YuGiOh! Aladdin
by AphroditeLove
Summary: YuGiOh x Aladdin xover with a bit of a fun [yaoiish] twist. Stars a young thief named Bakura, and a young prince called Ryou, and a pharaoh named…ah, well, you’ll see.
1. The Diamond in the Rough

Yu-Gi-Oh! Aladdin!

Summary: Yu-Gi-Oh x Aladdin x-over with a bit of a fun yaoiish twist. Stars a young thief named Bakura, and a young prince called Ryou, and a pharaoh named…ah, well, you'll see.

A/N: DON'T HIT ME! I just…I got this plotbunnie with watching Aladdin with a friend of mine, and both of us got really excited and she helped me a bit with this story (thank you, marikslildevil!) and well…we got so high on this story that I JUST HAD TO DO IT!

It won't be long, I promise. I mean, look at that. This's only four pages. Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Aladdin, or their quotes (if you watched Aladdin, you can tell what's a quote and what's not.) And I don't own the Aladdin songs, though I have altered them slightly to fit the image of Egypt.

Enjoy! I'll work on _YGO: Beauty and the Beast _when I watch it again! XD I need inspiration! Don't worry, I'm still working on it, and YGO-CSI, AND my PotR, AND my NK2 chapters, (which still need to be beta-read, so it's on it's way!) PLEASE DON'T THROW THINGS AT ME! THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GOOD STORY!

Enjoy!

---

Chapter: Tales of the Egyptian Nights

_Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place_…

A cloaked man stood among the rolling hill of golden sand, watching as the glowing orange sun slowly sank into the horizon. His dark attire stood out vividly against the soft light of the sun and the harsh gold of the sands; the very contrast of his dark cloak and black horse seemed to welcome the night.

_Where the caravan camels roam…_

The black horse snorted very quietly, impatient to get going. Yet, the magnificent black beauty stood still, obediently listening to the silent word of his master, sitting on his back.

The master lightly patted the horse's side, silently soothing him to wait.

_  
Where it's flat and immense  
And the heat is intense_

The sun had finally set. Darkness sprawled out against the sky like a swarm of inky locusts, eating hungrily away at the golden mist that was once the dying rays of the sun.

The stars came out too, but they stood far away, twinkling distantly and keeping well away from the night. They didn't want to get too near either.

_  
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home._

Now that the time was right, the master promptly yanked onto the reins. With a triumphant neigh, the horse reared back and began to gallop down onto the dunes.

The man's cloak flapped after him, flicking sharply in the already cold night.

_When the wind's from the east  
And the sun's from the west  
And the sand in the glass is right  
Come on down  
Stop on by  
Hop on carpet and fly  
To another Egyptian night!_

The horse sped up, and finally, both animal and master stood tall and towering on a great, silent dune.

_Egyptian nights!  
Like Egyptian days!  
More often than not  
Are hotter than hot  
In a lot of good ways…!_

About him, the man's cloak swirled lightly, even though the night was utterly windless.

Egyptian nights  
'Neath Egyptian moons  
A fool off his guard  
Could fall and fall hard  
Out there on the dunes…

---

The shadow didn't have to wait long. Pretty soon, along came a small, stubby little cloaked figure, dragging behind him a lumpy and rather heavy canvas bag along the sand.

The shadow watched silently as the little figure came to a stop, huddling under his tattered cloak and holding the opening of the bag in his tight and trembling hands. He gave a weak, demented giggle. It didn't sound like a giggle though. It was more of a scratchy wheeze, like some sort of bug that had been squashed and was trying to breathe.

Beneath the hood of his cloak, the towering, shadowed man peered over at the huddling figure with his dark, cold eyes.

"Do you…have it?"

The little cloaked figure gave another shuddering, wheezy giggle, and nodded shakily, like some sort of high opium addict. He looked up at the tall master on the horse, his little beady blue eyes shining with an expression of fear and breathless greed.

"I…I have it, s-sir," he chattered, gesturing to his other hand, which was stuffed in his pocket very tightly. "I—I ahh…I h-had to sl-slit a couple of throats, b-but…" He nervously ran a hand through his green, bowl-cut hair, his eyes flashing at the lumpy bag behind him. They switched from the bag to watching the man warily, like some sort of shivering, demonic bug.

If this at all upset the man, the shadow did not express it at all. Calmly, he held out his hand, but if anyone else had been there, they could've seen how the man's hand shook with fevered, eager impatience, just as greedy as the buggy little boy beneath him.

Instantly, the cloaked boy jumped back, shaking his head. "Uh uh uh!" he sniggered feebly, his sad attempt to control the situation failing horribly. "T-the treasure…AH!"

From out of nowhere, a dark, golden bird with a hawk-beak and near metallic feathers came swiftly at him, snatching his wrist and hooking a golden claw around the precious thing in his hands. The boy stumbled and fell back, mouth gaping in horror as the miniature Winged Dragon flew back to the shadowed man's shoulder, and dropped the jewel into the man's awaiting hand.

"Oh, don't be worried, Weevil," the shadow said silkily, slowly holding up the emerald scarab beetle in his fingers. "You'll get your treasure soon enough…"

Slowly, the man reached into his cloak, and pulled out a rather frightening piece of sorcery. It looked like a rod of sorts, with a capped top sprouting golden bladed wings, and a royal Eye in the middle.

Weevil choked and gaped at the Item, shivering as he accidentally bumped into the lump behind him. He gave another choked cry and turned to the shadow, who was about to tap the jeweled beetle with his Item.

The man paused slightly, and gave Weevil a small smirk from beneath his hood. "Oh don't worry," he said softly, "she won't be needing this anytime soon."

And he pressed the Eye into the beetle.

As though suddenly coming alive, the beetle glowed a bright green, and began to beat its wings furiously. It hung in the air momentarily once the man had let go, and then, without further ado, shot away into the night, leaving a ghostly, green trail.

"Quickly!" the man yelled, rearing on his horse. "Follow the trail!"

The horse instantly galloped behind it, streaking past the dunes and the sand so quickly the surroundings blurred. The poor boy Weevil barely had time to grasp onto the horse's tail before tearing behind the man, leaving the dead body behind.

"Faster!" the man demanded, kicking the horse swiftly. The horse sped up, until suddenly, the beetle split into two. Each wing and half flew around a great mountain of sand, before impaling themselves onto the head of it. The man was about to chase after them when suddenly, the earth gave a violent rumble, and the mountain of sand began to shift.

The beads of sand shifted and shivered, trickling down like salted powder as the mountain shuddered greatly and began to rear back. The mountain then grew two more hills on either of its greatest hill in the middle, and sprouted great-sanded claws from the ground. A head of a fearsome monster grew from the mountain of sand, and dropped its angular jaw and teeth. Red eyes glowed as the sand slowly calmed down, and then…silent.

Weevil, gasping and panting, fell to his knees. "Oh mighty Obelisk…"

"You fool," the shadow hissed. "This is not Obelisk! Only the Pharaoh can call out the true Obelisk! This is…" The man returned to his gaze up upon the mountainous God head. "…The Shadow of Wonders…"

The monstrous blue head of Obelisk the Egyptian god narrowed his flashing red eyes. A great roar was heard.

"WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER?"

Weakly, Weevil shuddered to his legs, and slid to the front of the shadowed man. The man glared down at him, and gestured impatiently for Weevil to go forwards.

Whimpering fearfully, Weevil struggled another bow. "I-It is I….W-weevil…a-a j-jewel c-collector…"

Obelisk the Shadow of Wonders looked past Weevil coldly. His great mouth moved heavily as he spoke his simple words, his voice low yet trembling greatly with his strength and immense power.

"Know this. Only one may enter here. One whose heart sparks within. _The diamond in the rough_."

Weevil whimpered again, and looked back at the shadowed man. Dark eyes narrowed at him.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" the man snapped. "Go on!"

Weakly, Weevil slowly crept towards the open, heavy mouth of Obelisk the tormentor. The God made of sand opened his mouth wider, bearing his sharp teeth. Shivering, Weevil squeezed between the rows of teeth, slowly putting a tentative foot on the descending staircase inside.

Slowly, very very slowly, he pressed a foot down on the first step. He flinched and winced.

….Nothing happened.

When he opened his eyes, Weevil gave a remarkably loud, relieved sigh. Everything was okay.

….But suddenly, a great roar was heard, and the mouth of Obelisk began to shudder in anger. Bright light shone from the insides of the God's throat, blinding Weevil and forcing him to stumble back. He tried to run when he saw the teeth descend, tried to scream as he was caught between the sharp, feet thick rows.

With a flash of light, Obelisk slammed his teeth upon Weevil, the rest of his sand-created head shattering into a mountain once more. The shadow yelled, but he was not heard as he reared back away from the light and the destruction.

"SEEK THE ONE. THE DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH…the diamond in the rough…"

The once great mighty Obelisk dissolved back into a mountainous dune, the two halves of the beetle rolling back onto the floor.

Slowly, the man regained his senses, watching the darkness of the night warily with his amethyst eyes. Before retrieving the shards of the beetle, he slowly pulled his hood back on to cover his blond hair, before tying it back on securely.

The miniature Winged Dragon of Ra on his shoulder by then had swooped up the remains, and dropped them in the shadow's awaiting hand. The shadow calmly placed them back into his cloak, along with his Rod.

"A diamond in the rough," he repeated softly, as he absently stroked his bird. "…A diamond in the rough."

He raised his head once more, and looked up into the sky. With a small smirk, he cupped his Winged Dragon's beak, and stroked it almost affectionately.

"Well, Ra-A'waan," the shadow whispered, "we'll just have to find this…._ diamond in the rough_."

With that said, the man slowly turned his horse away from the mountain.

_A fool off his guard…  
Could fall and fall hard  
Out there on the dunes…_

_---_

Um…A'waan means "helper, assistant." I wanted to find an Arabic name that meant "child", cause you know, I mean….Well, okay, I couldn't named the Mini-Winged Dragon Ra-chan, no matter how much I wanted too! So now he's…"Ra-A'waan." (But I still call him Ra-chan in my heart. –sniffles- AWW! A CHIBI WINGED DRAGON OF RA! Cutesy little Ra-chan…) (Plus, I think Ra-A'waan is a cool name.)

Oh take a great big ruddy guess at who's Jafar. Oh come now, it's not that hard! Really! XD In fact, I think he makes a better Jafar than he does make a Scar…come on, guess! Guess!

Remember to READ AND REVIEW! Critique is always welcome!

Oh yeah, this was a bit of a present too…I didn't want to leave for school without something new for you guys to read. I promise when I have time, I'll work my hardest to upload PotR, YGOxCSI, YGO:Beauty and the Beast, and of course, NK2.

-AL


	2. Street Rat

A/N: This was seven pages. Wow. Who'd think that seven pages could make up only like, fifteen to twenty minutes of what happened in the actual movie?

Happy Thanksgiving! Sorry for making this partially OOC and also making it rushed. I've been really busy.

Read and review please!

-Aphroditelove

* * *

Chapter Two: Street Rat

"HOLD IT! STOP, THIEF!"

The thief skidded to a stop, cornered on one of the high, rickety wooden boards where the slaves usually worked. Thankfully, this side of the half-finished pyramid was mostly abandoned, so the thief didn't have…_too much_ to worry about.

"Che," the thief grunted, wobbling on the unstable board. He eyed the deep vastness of the height below him. He swallowed "Not like as if I have much of a choice…" He quickly glanced over his shoulder, and blanched at what he saw behind him.

Three guards: the middle one hulking huge and tall, the one on the left, an incongruous gangly twig of a man, and the third, a short, stubby midget waving a sword about the same height as him.

The white-haired thief made a face. If this were any _other_ situation when he wasn't dangling over the side of mortal peril, this would've actually been _funny_.

The tallest, biggest and most-missing-toothiest guard raised his sword threateningly as he and the other two guards advanced across the very weak and unstable bridge of wood.

"I'll have your hands for a trophy, street rat!"

Said thief looked curiously at his jar of dates, nuts, and a loaf of bread sticking out of his limp bag. "…All this for a …oh heh, would you look at that, a pure gold bracelet…" He looked up and blanched again when he saw the guards nearly a foot away. "Eep! Okay, gotta go!"

As quickly as he could, he snapped back and closed his eyes.

_Ra help me for my stupidity…_

And jumped.

"WHOAAAAAA!"

As he shot down through the air, the white-haired thief quickly managed to snatch one hand against one of the wooden rafters. He stopped abruptly and slowly, he looked down below him, his legs dangling right in front of the Sphinx's pyramid nose.

Bakura squinted. "…I think he needs a nose job…"

A crack above him was heard. He quickly looked up again and his eyes widened when he saw the heavy splinter in the wood he was clutching onto for dear life.

"…Uh oh."

And snap went the rafter, swoosh went Bakura to the side as the whole plank gave way, and right into the Sphinx's nose did Bakura fly into.

_CRASH!_

And there went another nose, breaking by the chunks and scattering to the floor. And Bakura, among the debris, managed to slide down the crevice of the Sphinx's nostrils, lips, chin, neck, and finally, down its chest.

Down and down he slid, faster and faster. His feet were starting to get sand burn when he finally landed, rather ungracefully, onto the ground in to the soft sand with a plop.

Sputtering out sand, Bakura quickly got to his feet and began to run through the tall stocks of wood. His limp bag bounced after him, the bread tucked protectively inside.

As he ran, Bakura gave a cackle after him. He blew a raspberry at the Sphinx.

"You can't catch me!" Suddenly he hit something quite solid. "…Nevermind, maybe you can."

The guards leering face sneered down at him, hood and turban dangling dirtily in his face. Sweat dripped from his nose and his nostrils flared from running after Bakura so much.

"I should teach you for making a fool out me, you filthy street rat! This time----!"

But before the guard could finish, his hood and turban were stuffed over his beadily little eyes, and Bakura smirked happily.

"Good to see you, Diabound, as usual," Bakura saluted. The small, mini Diabound, barely even a foot in height, beat his little wings and smiled brightly. The snake half of Diabound hissed and cocked his head to the side, before saying smart-aleckily, "Well, I mean, it wasn't like as if you were just going to be massacred…"

"More running, more food, less talk," Bakura interrupted, and grabbed Diabound by his waist. The human form of Diabound (nicknamed personally by Bakura as Dia-Dia) hummned contently as he waved to the muffled guard behind them. (As the human part of Diabound was never much of a quick thinker.)

"Oh yeah, abuse the reptile," whined the snake half (Boundo.) as he went flipping and snapping in the wind after Dia Dia and Bakura."Take care of the dumb brawl of a human, but abuse the reptile…" His head wobbled up and down. "By all of Ra's cheese…"

"We can have cheese later if you'll shut up," Bakura called back, "but first we gotta be, WHOA!"

He skidded again as more guars lined up from the dunes in front of him, creating his great bad wall. Grinning, Bakura slid to a stop, before swiftly ducking out away from a swishing sword.

"Gotta keep…"

_One jump ahead of the breadline_

Bakura laughed and ducked between two more guards as they hurtled into each other in an attempt to capture him.

_One swing ahead of the sword._

"I steal only what I can't afford," Bakura grinned, and began to run.

"And that's everything," Boundo commented happily.

As quickly as he could, Bakura darted through the dunes towards small village where the workers were staying at to build the pyramid. A small marketplace was set up; low canvases and little booths, crowded with mothers and filled with resting men from a hard day's work. Wood, sand, and blocks of rocks stood in great heaps, waiting to be used for the pyramids. A pile of empty barrels waiting to be filled with water stood in the front of the small village.

_One jump ahead of the lawmen_

_That's all, and that's no joke_

Sneakily, Bakura jumped high onto the barrels, and kicked them sufficiently on the way down. The guards behind him flew about like bowling pins.

_"These guys just don't appreciate I'm broke!" _

Said guards scowled and spat out sand from their mouths.

"Riffraff! Street rat!"

"Scoundrel! Take THAT!"

Narrowly missing a flung arrow and a few daggers, Bakura stood on top on one of the staircase of clay blocks. Innocently, he took out the bread and smiled sheepishly.

"_Just a little snack guys…WHOA!"_

More knives flung, more arrows zipping by.

"_RIP HIM OPEN, TAKE IT BACK GUYS!"_

Bakura shrugged and stuffed the bread away, before turning and darting off the mini pyramid of clay.

"_I can take a hint, gotta face the facts_," he landed in a group meeting of women. "_You're my only friend Diabound!"_

The girls shrieked and withdrew to themselves. A few of the pretty ones looked all huff and puffy, covering themselves with their linens and veils.

"_Who? Oh it's sad, Bak'hra's hit the bottom! He's become a one-man rise in crime!"_

A towering woman came in and frowned.

_"I'd blame the parents 'cept he hasn't GOT 'em!"_

Bakura scowled and began to slide away.

_"Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to it, tell you about it," _he winked at one girl, "_when I have the time!"_

_  
One jump ahead of the slowpokes!_

_One skip ahead of my doom!_

_Next time gonna use a nom de plume!_

The little chase carried out into the farming fields, where Bakura began skipping through the sheep.

_One jump ahead of the hitmen_

_One hit ahead of the flock_

Grinning innocently, Bakura began to walk casually away, Diabound on his shoulder.

_"I think I'll take a stroll around the block…"_

_Stop thief! Vandal!_

_Tozouku! Scandal!_

Bakura looked over his shoulder, and saw that the guards were circling him from all around. He flashed a wide, sheepish smile. They looked ready to pounce.

_Let's not be be too hasty…_

_(Well we think Bakura's crazy…)_

Bakura shrugged and waved. "_Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat, otherwise we'd get along."_

And they did pounce.

_"WRONG!"_

And then they all landed into a messy pile where Bakura once stood. When the dust cleared, Bakura wasn't there. He was climbing back onto the rafters leading to the pyramids, much to the annoyance of the tomb workers.

Up he climbed, swinging from wooden beams to the next. His thin arms scrambled up like centipedes, quick and nimble. His feet pranced and jumped from one shelf to the next, through windows, and from trapdoors like an expert tomb robber. All around him, the gauds gradually but quickly began to crawl at all sides into and onto the unfinished pyramid. Swords waved after them, their set faces looking none too friendly.

_"One jump ahead of the hoofbeats,"_ Bakura gripped the side of the pyramid's head hard. "_One hop ahead of the hump!"_

He flung himself into the pyramid's half-finished eye and crawled like some demented monkey up onto the roof of the pyramid's head.

_"One trick ahead of disaster!"_

He flung himself through the roof and glanced quickly at how many the guards had multiplied, all of them climbing onto the head of the pyramid.

_"They're quick, but I'm must faster!"_ He quickly grabbed one of the loose canvas sheets to shade the workers and smiled happily at the guards. _"Here goes! Wish me a happy landing, all I have to do is…"_

JUMP.

* * *

And so forth, started a typical day of fifteen-year-old thief Bakura. As a young boy, Bakura had lost his family at an early age, and was forced to learn how to steal through his orphan-age. Now, officially a 'man', but still a kid at heart, Bakura loved teasing the guards with his antics, deep inside wishing he'd one day he'd be the best King of Thieves there were in all of Egypt.

Even at fifteen, he was already causing quite a lot of mayhem. Bakura didn't mind. His dream was to one day own a great amount of riches…so great that he could even challenge the pharaoh, so great that he could one day even get his family back. But before he could do that, Bakura had to become a thief, and a great thief he was so far.

But he still had a lot of ways to become the true King of Thieves…

After his rather dramatic jump from the top of an unfinished pyramid, Bakura had drifted down onto the ground near the outside walls of a distant branch of the small marketplace. Sitting comfortably in a corner, soft cool sand in the shade, Bakura dug out his loaf of bread, and broke it in half.

"Here, Diabound," Bakura offered. He still had that wide, childishly maniacal grin on his face. "YUM."

As for Diabound, Diabound had always been a pet of Bakura's. Ever since his parents had died, he had always had Diaobound as a friend. While Diabound at first was this sickly white abomination of a man and a snake, with each year, Diabound grew a little bigger, and a lot healthier. Sometimes, Bakura even liked to think that Diabound took after him, but only secretly would he admit that to himself.

He once heard that such little pets that evolved when one was young and sad were called "Ka"s…spirit versions of one's soul that protected them from harm. Bakura often had wondered if Diabound was his 'Ka'. If he was, Bakura was certainly grateful for it.

Too bad Dia Dia was all brawn and no brain…and Boundo was all brain and no brawn…Bakura rolled his eyes. Strange pet he had, strange pet. At least it could fly on its own now…Dia Dia had been very pleased when he found out he could fly.

With a great sense of pride, Dia-Dia looked at the bread in his hands, smiling idiotically before taking a great big bite of it.

"Mn," Dia Dia nodded in content. Boundo sighed exasperatedly.

"Abuse the reptile, why don't you," Boundo complained. "Didn't offer me any food, did you, did you, did you…"

"Now now, share," Bakura said, through a mouthful of bread. "Sh-ware."

"Swear?" Boundo perked up interestedly. "I wouldn't mind swearing, but you should watch that insolent tongue of yours, Bakura…"

Bakura swallowed his mouthful. "NO no no! I mean SHARE, Ra-dammit."

Boundo clicked his forked tongue disappointedly. "You didn't have to use such bad langauge, Bakura," he chided, before taking a small bite out of Dia-Dia's half of the bread. Dia-Dia's smile brightened through his chubby cheeks of food, and he happily motioned Boundo to eat more.

"Eh," Boundo shrugged. "Well, I guess all brawn isn't that bad sometimes…"

Dia-Dia beamed.

Once more, Bakura shook his head and rolled his eyes. He wolfed down another mouthful of bread, chewing methodically as he stared distantly in front of him.

Noticing Bakura's quieter demeanor, Dia-Dia looked up curiously. He grunted softy and offered his half of the bread, gesturing up to Bakura. _Not hungry?_

Bakura sighed and swallowed, bread hanging limply in his hands. "No…just…" He stared at the loaf a bit, before sighing again. "…I'm tired of just stealing bread. Surely there must be something worth stealing that's better than this."

"You kidding me?" Boundo piped up, still nibbling on his end of the loaf of bread. "We struck it rich today….look! A nut!" Boundo promptly chomped onto said nut with his fangs. "Hmn…oh, and I can just taste a bit of fruit there to…we should steal from that shop more often!"

Bakura turned to him sharply. "No, we can't. We never steal from the same place twice, remember?"

"Yeah, but if you're thinking of becoming a tomb raider or something," Boundo mused, "then you can literally only steal like, once per lifetime. And how long are you planning to live, Bakura?"

Scowling, Bakura lowered his head into his shoulders and pouted. Dia-Dia growled disapprovingly at Boundo, receiving an incredulous 'what did I do' look from the serpent.

Abandoning his bread, Dia-Dia forced himself to fly, and fluttered to Bakura's shoulder. With an incomprehensible murmur, Dia-Dia stuck himself onto Bakura's head, and gave him a tight hug.

Breaking away from his dark mood, Bakura gave a chuckle, and petted Diabound fondly on the head. "…I wish I could just steal something…more worthier than this."

"Worthy," Dia-Dia repeated. He butted his head against Bakura's temple. "Worthy."

Once again, Bakura sighed, but with a faint smile. He turned a bit to look at Diabound, and gave the little Ka a scratch between his protruding horns. Dia-Dia purred.

"Thanks, Dia-Dia. You're a great buddy."

"What about me?" the snake portion and also abandoned his bread, and was slithering around Bakura's arm. "…Aren't I a great buddy?"

"You, or your smart-ass tongue?" Bakura retorted. In reply, the snake scowled back, and gave Bakura a little nip on his arm. "OW!"

"Brat," said the cobra huffily. But Bakura could tell that Boundo was just a tad bit hurt. The cobra's eyes were not looking at him directly anyway.

Smiling, Bakura roughly gave Boundo a pat on the head. "…Yeah, you're a great buddy too." He slowly picked up his Ka, much to the happiness of Dia-Dia and the reluctance of Boundo. "…Thanks, Diabound."

The top half purred happily, appreciating his master's rare show of affection. Boundo, although reluctant, eventually gave in and rubbed lightly against Bakura's neck.

"You're a brat, you know that?" Boundo sighed, but not unkindly. Bakura grinned and scratched Boundo's scaly head.

"…Yeah."

Sighing again, Boundo shook his head, but slowly relaxed against his master's shoulder. Their relationship was strange this way; no matter how often Boundo chided and scolded and snapped at his master, there was no doubt that Diabound would protect the young thief from harm, even if it meant his own life.

…Ever since that night…

Snickering softly, Bakura gave his pet a scratch between his ears. Dia-Dia purred happily, while Boundo slowly curled up onto Bakura's shoulder. Feeling suddenly sleepy, Dia-Dia immediately curled up against the tresses of Bakura's hair. Snorting again, Bakura stood up, finishing his bread and putting Diaboundo's leftovers in his bag for later.

"Come on," he said, looking up the alley. He spotted a crowd at the opening. "Huh. Wonder what they're up to over there…"

"Maybe it's a parade?" Boundo suggested. Bakura blinked and craned his neck.

"Dunno," he said. He shrugged and began to walk towards the brighter end of the alleyway, blocked off by an immense crowd. As Bakura approached closer and closer, he could distinguish the features of many turbaned men with beards. Even some of the women doing some marketing stopped and peered over the men's shoulders for a look-see.

Once at the entrance, Bakura paused, trying to find a good place to crane his head to see what was going on. Clicking his forked tongue lightly, Boundo raised his head and flicked lightly into Bakura's ear: "…Che…you should be more careful, Bakura…someone can see you here."

Bakura merely shrugged, forcing his way through a couple of men and a round mother carrying a baby in one arm and two children's hands in the other. "They don't know me here," he said. "I'm okay."

Boundo sighed but did nothing. "Reckless," he chided.

Snorting again in reply, Bakura ignored his pet protector and peered over the shoulder of a taller, broader man wearing gray robes and a white turban. He was middle-aged and unshaven, pondering loudly to his incongruous friend, who was shorter and rounder.

"Another suitor for the prince," he was saying, murky eyes in thought. They looked watery with wisdom and age.

"I hear they've already run out of women to please the prince," the rounder one said, looking at the scene skeptically.

A pretty but veiled woman was standing next to the fat, round man, and had to bend down to whisper. "I hear the last one flew out in a rage."

"Well, you have to admit, she looked really annoying," the plump man replied.

The older, broader man nodded slowly. "Yes…I truly hadn't expected our prince to decide on her anyway."

Bakura blinked, confused. The prince…but didn't Egypt recently crown a king already? How was there a prince already? And if there was, why did he have to choose a suitor now? Why was he dismissing all the different suitors he could have?

A prettified white horse with wide nostrils and long eyelashes came into view. On top sat a young prince with long, black hair, tied back into an elegant ponytail. His clothes were a bright, fluorescent green, strung with gold and silver. His emerald eyes were half-lidded in snobbish boredom, and as he trotted haughtily on his high horse, he was twirling one of his black bangs absentmindedly.

Bakura blanched and made a face. _Ew._

"I can see why the prince is so uptight," Boundo commented, trying his best not to snicker at the sight of the overly dressed prince.

"Ew," Bakura and Dia-Dia said together.

"Ch, no, Daren, no---STOP!"

Instantly, Bakura jumped to the side. Two children had tumbled their way through the crowd, breaking free from the round mother's grasp. Too caught up trying to not topple her baby, she waved frantically to the crowd as both young boys ran straight for the road.

"No! Daren! Arwek! STOP!"

Before Bakura could do anything, both little boys were already in front of the horse. The horse gave a frightened, yet angry neigh, startling the said green-eyed prince. His handsome face immediately contorted to anger.

"Out of my way," he raised his whip. "Filthy BRATS!"

"Hey!" Instantly, Bakura was in front of the two boys, the whip coiled around his arm. "…If I was as rich as you, I'd afford some manners, Prince Jerk-a-lot!" He grabbed the whip and chucked it back at the prince.

Startled, the prince huffed and shook his head. "Get out of my way, you worthless street rat!" And he kicked Bakura squarely in the chest, sending the thief and Diabound sprawling into the mud on the side of the curb. Some of the villagers began to laugh and mock.

Surprised and afraid, the little boys quickly ran back to their mothers, beginning to whine at the sight of Bakura stuck in the mud. Face twitching in disgust, Bakura drew himself out of the mud.

"Would you look at that, Diabound?" drawled Bakura as he watched the prince continue his way towards the palace gates. "It's not everyday you see a horse with _two_ rear ends!"

The crowd was immediately silenced, and the prince whipped around. His emerald eyes flashed angrily.

"YOU, my dear sir, are a worthless street rat," the prince snapped. "You were born a street rat, you will die a street rat, and nothing in this earth will mourn you!"

_SMACK._

Heaving, Bakura had thrown a pack of mud at the prince, but it had missed and splashed against the door of the palace. Sticky and growling, Diabound drew himself out of the mud too, Boundo with his tongue forking out dangerously. Bakura himself had eyes bright red with anger, his left hand preparing another mud pack.

The prince wasn't fazed, and smirked.

"Street rat," he hissed, as he turned away towards the palace. "I bet you and your whole village was equally worthless as well…"

_SMACK!_

"They were NOT!" Bakura chucked another handful of mud at the prince, but it missed and hit the opening doors instead._ SMACK! _"THEY WERE NOT!"

The prince turned back briefly and scowled. The palace gates finally were wide enough for the prince to go through, and without further ado, he trotted in.

"Goodbye, street rat."

And before Bakura to run after him, the door had closed.

* * *

Slowly, Bakura trotted home. The sun had set, the people had gone, and his clothes were free of mud.

Gently, Diabound cooed in his ear like an apologetic dove, nuzzling Bakura for attention. But Bakura merely looked on ahead, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"You musn't listen to them," Boundo tried softly. He slithered around Bakura's neck and draped himself across the width of Bakura's shoulders. "…Don't, Bakura…"

Sighing, Bakura ignored his pet, and continued to head on home. His empty bag sagged along with his heart.

His village…no one had ever spoken of his village that way before. To say it was dirt, it was nothing, it was worthless…

Bakura blinked back tears and angry rubbed his eyes.

_Riffraff, street rat!_

_I don't buy that!_

_But if only they look closer…_

Sighing, Bakura made his way up the wooden ladders to the top of the unfinished pyramid he had been stealing from earlier that day. The workers were gone and the guards could never find him in that hollowed out room near the top of the pyramid's head. When he reached the dark little alcove, he slowly made his way to his flaxen bed.

Would they see a poor boy? 

_Not at all…_

He pulled himself near the trapdoor above his head, and let it loose. Through the rooftops, he saw the stars, all twinkling peacefully down at him.

Sometimes, when he wished really hard, Bakura could see the spirits of his family in the stars. They were translucent and brief, but if Bakura thought hard enough, sometimes he could see them.

_They'd find out…_

_There's so much more…_

Bakura reached up towards the stars. For a moment, he thought he had seen his baby sister.

_To …me…_

"Someday, Diabound," he whispered. "I'm going to get my family back. I'm going to be rich, we'll have power…and maybe someday, Mom and Dad will come back home."


	3. I Don't Want to be a Prince

Chapter Three: I Don't Want to be a Prince

Meanwhile, up in the castle, things weren't going all that great either. In a storm, the green-eyed suitor had left, green pants ripped at the seat. It was obvious to any passerby that his pants were ripped, his pride was hurt, and most of all, his _hair was ruined!_

And all this left poor Pharaoh Yugi in a bit of a rut.

Although fourteen already and ripe enough to be king, Yugi was still a child at heart. Even his priest joked that when he walked, he would bounce up and down akin to a 'tup-tup' sort of tune. In too short a time frame, he had been thrown into kinghood. If he had been younger, he would've never guessed that he would turn King so quickly…not after Atemu, his older brother by five years, who'd been ruling for a while, or after Seto, who was older by seven years, who only ruled for a year or two.

In only a time frame of four years, both Atemu and Seto had died and were buried; priests and priestesses kept on changing and alternating. Deep inside his naïve heart, Yugi was _sure_ that neither death was an accident. But even after two years on the throne, Yugi still wasn't sure who'd _ever_ assassinate his brother and his cousin.

So, therefore, it was understandable that Yugi wanted his next heir to get married as possible. Although he was naïve, Yugi knew his time wouldn't last long. And neither he nor his heir were very strong people…both of them were easily pushed into doing things. With the time he had left, Yugi wanted to insure his heir had made the proper marriage: to someone willing and capable and strong enough for Egypt.

Sighing, Yugi pulled himself from the throne. Bristling, he 'tup-tuped' his way to the garden to see his heir.

"…Ryou!"

He opened to wide doors to the garden, and spotted the prince sitting amongst a bed of wild desert flowers. His Ka, a white, fluffy marshmallow with innocent eyes and a little mouth (Mashiro) looked up, and twittered at the sight of Yugi. Ryou, however, did not look up.

Ryou himself, was a rather beautiful boy. Long, white hair trailed back and rested against his shoulders, shielding his large and almost effeminately beautiful brown eyes. His skin was a pale, soft white, much like Mashiro. And normally, Ryou's heart was just as soft.

But…apparently not today. Ryou wasn't in a good mood today.

Sighing, Yugi turned to glare at Ryou with his wide purple eyes. "Ryou…"

"Morning, Pharaoh," Ryou greeted quietly, but still did not look up. He continued to stoke the leaves and petals of the flowers fondly. "I trust that Prince Otogi left with a proper farewell?"

"Asking Mashiro to bite his pants off is not a proper farewell," Yugi protested bluntly. Ryou sighed and drew Mashiro onto his lap and began to pet him. "Well? Ryou? What do you expect me to do?"

"What can you do?" Ryou sighed. He looked up, his dark brown eyes clouded with sadness and frustration. "…Yugi, you know I don't want to marry. I'm too young. And I don't like any one of the suitors that come…they all just…" Ryou looked away. "They just want to look at me. They're not interested in anything else!"

"But Prince Otogi was also interested in games, and books, and literature, and arts," Yugi protested. He flopped onto the garden next to Ryou. "What was wrong with Prince Otogi?"

Ryou sighed and cuddled Mashiro. "Oh nothing, other than he couldn't stop talking about himself and twiddling with his hair…and with my hair too, for that matter!" A blush lit up Ryou's face, but Yugi couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or from annoyance.

A short silence fell between the two friends, before Ryou gently but quickly placed Mashiro onto Yugi's lap. "Here. He misses you."

(A long time ago, Mashiro was originally one of Yugi's many Kas, but since Ryou's true Ka was harder to manage, for he had a woman Ka that tend to attract more boys than Ryou felt comfortable with, Mashiro had been given to Ryou.)

Yugi took Mashiro awkwardly. "Ryou, come on…"

But Ryou didn't reply. Instead, he stood up, and began to walk towards the other end of the garden. Quickly, Yugi put Mashiro down, and followed Ryou as fast as he could.

"Oh, come on, Ryou," he tried, as he approached his friend. "Look, I know it's really hard to find a suitor, especially one you like, but you'll have to chose soon…you only have so many days…"

"…until my sixteenth birthday," Ryou recited, sighing. "Yes, I know, Yugi. I know…but I don't want to do this." The white-haired boy paused, and slowly sank onto his knees in the corner of the amethyst flowers. "I don't want to marry someone I don't love," Ryou murmured, faintly stroking the red petals of an exotic rose.

A sad smile crept onto Yugi's face. He slowly sat himself next to his friend.

"I know," he started gently. "But…you've got to understand, Ryou…it's for the good of the country. Ever since…you know, …" Yugi looked away. "…Well, all I want is that you're…well provided for when I'm gone. I'm not going to be around forever…"

Sighing, Ryou raised his head, for the first time, raising his eyes sympathetically at Yugi. Just as gently, he petted his friend on the shoulder, and stroked his back comfortingly. "...I'm sorry," Ryou whispered sincerely.

Yugi shook his head. "Don't be…" He looked up and gave Ryou a small smile. "…I still miss him though."

Ryou nodded understandingly. "I do too. He was a wonderful pharaoh." Pausing, Ryou retreated his hand, and looked back down onto his lap. "But…maybe you're just overreacting, Yugi…maybe no one really did kill them…maybe they just…died naturally…" Ryou looked up again. "I mean…you've been on the throne for a while…and no one has tried to kill you yet…right?"

Once again, Yugi sighed. Raising his eyes, he met Ryou's big brown eyes sadly, and shook his head. "I don't know…"

Immediately, those dark brown eyes slumped back onto Ryou' lap, looking horribly guilty. "…I'm really sorry, Yugi."

Yugi shook his head again. "Don't worry about it." He stood up. "…We'll find a suitor for you…and …maybe everything will be better after that."

"Could you…could you give me some more time though?" Ryou quickly stood too. "Yugi…I promise, I promise that I'll find a good suitor to marry…but could you please…just give me a bit more time? I can't…" Ryou looked down. "I can't marry someone I don't love…someone who just wants this throne…I know it's selfish of me, but I can't do it…someone who doesn't love me for me can't love the kingdom anymore…"

Biting his lip, Ryou balled his fist and stared at the ground. As much as he hated to admit it, he had to let it out.

"I don't want to be a prince, Yugi…" he whispered.

At this, Yugi paused, and slumped his shoulders. When he answered, he didn't look at Ryou.

"…I understand," he said sadly. "…I'll give you a bit more time, Ryou."

Without another word, Yugi turned around, and headed to the entrance of the garden, leaving a guilty Ryou in his midst.

* * *

"I don't know what I'm going to do with him," Yugi sighed to himself, as he made his way through the columns of gold and back to his throne. He slumped onto it disappointedly, pouting as he began to spin a little wheel on a toy-version of his palace. (The whole throne room was scattered with little statues, castles, board games and toy pieces that were cleared into little boxes when the priests were assembled.) "His sisters weren't nearly so picky…"

Kisara, the prince's older sister, was the former princess and wife of Pharaoh Seto during his rein. Before Seto's death, Kisara had mysteriously disappeared, though no one knew why. As Kisara came from a rare race of ethereal and beautiful white-haired people, there were rumors that she had forseen Seto's death and had fled. When she disappeared, so did her beautiful Ka, the majestic Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and after that, Egypt's defenses had severely weakened.

Amane, the prince's younger and twin sister, also mysteriously vanished at the time. Though younger than Kisara, Amane had also a Blue-Eyes White Dragon Ka, except much smaller and had been still growing. Yugi never mentioned Amane to Ryou, as the two were very close. Yugi remembered over-hearing that Amane had wanted to become a priestess and evolve her Ka into the ultimate form for a Blue Eyes White Dragon: The Blue Eyes Shining Dragon. It was a pity she was gone…

Shaking his head to clear the memories, Yugi sighed again, and absently rolled the water wheel. "…Must be harsh for Ryou too, now that I think about it…he never talks about them…oh!"

Surprised, Yugi jumped at the shadow that had loomed over his toy castle. Looking up, his face broke into a relieved smile, and all his fears seemed to melt away. He laid a hand over his heart and sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's just you," Yugi chuckled childishly. "Marik, my most trusted advisor…you gave me quite a scare you know…"

Towering high above him, bearing great strength and height, was indeed, High Priest Marik Ishtar. His skin in the dim palace light was dark and deeply tanned. His sculpted and built body donned the noble attire of black and purple, struck with gold shoulder-plates and a golden ankh hanging from his choker-clad neck. A deep purple robe was swathed and hung from his shoulders. On his left stood his Ka, a Winged Dragon of Ra, but in a small, portable and condensed form. In right hand, he clutched the Millennium Rod.

Amethyst eyes glowed brightly behind darkly lidded eyelashes. A smirk glimmered on his chiseled lips.

"I must ask you to forgive me, my liege," Marik apologized, bowing deeply at the waist. "And how is our young master today?"

Yugi smiled and shook Marik's apology away. Ever since Mahaado, Yugi's and Yami's formerly most trusted advisor and caretaker had died, Marik had been at Yugi's beck and call. There was no greater trust than the one Yugi bestowed upon Marik ever since Mahaado's passing away. In fact, it was Marik who had suggested that Yugi quickly marry Ryou off as soon as possible… "for the good of the kingdom."

"Oh, I'm fine, just fine," Yugi waved his hand. "But I'm having a bit of trouble talking with Ryou…he still doesn't want to marry…no matter what." Yugi sighed. "Maybe we should forget about him betrothing to someone…I mean, after Amane and Kisara too…he must be heartbroken…"

Marik shook his head. "Sire, you must realize that it is for the good of the kingdom." Marik slowly glided over to the side of the throne, idly noting the model castle. "A fine pharaoh will not let weakness drive his kingdom. Extraordinary things cannot be achieved without some suffering in return."

Pouting, Yugi slumped his shoulders, and pulled his knees onto the throne. "…I know," he admitted, as his older brother had often given him the same advice before. "But still…how will I ever get Ryou to marry? He doesn't want to even be a prince!" Yugi threw his hands up in the air. "…I can't reason with him…and I can't argue with him…he's my friend, I can't do that…"

"Give the boy a little time," Marik said idly. "An heir so late in line needs some time to realize his duty."

Yugi deflated a bit. "…I guess so," he said. "I guess he really still misses Kisara and Amane…"

"As do we all," Marik said nonchalantly. "However…in regards to your problem with the prince…I suppose I can certainly try to help…"

Yugi perked up and looked at Marik instantly. "Really? You can? How?"

Marik, who had been idly rotating the Rod back and forth with his palm, glanced down at Yugi and slowly broadened his smirk.

"Well, I'm afraid I will need your help with the task…" A slow, tanned hand reached out, and caught Yugi's middle finger, where he wore a dark ruby ring. "After all…it will require the need of the mystic Osiris gem…" Marik rolled the ring tantalizingly, but Yugi quickly drew away.

"…My…my ring?" Yugi repeated sadly. He possessively held his finger to his chest. "But…it was…it was Yami's…it's all I have of him…left…"

"Such a task in finding your prince a suitor is extremely difficult," Marik shrugged. "But don't worry…" He swiftly bent down, and swept the Rod directly in front of Yugi's eyes. A dark golden light began to glow forth from the Eye of the Rod. "…everything will be fine…"

Yugi's wide eyes grew bigger, beginning to lose focus. He nodded slowly.

"Everything…will be…fine…" Yugi repeated softly. "…fine…"

At the druggish reply, Marik's smirk formed into a wicked grin. "…The ring…?"

Slowly, Yugi's eyes began dilate, losing all focus entirely. "…The ring…" In response, Yugi's left hand slowly twisted the ring off his finger robotically. "…Here…Marik…" He offered the ring distantly in the air. "…Whatever you need…will be…fine…"

In an instant, Marik had snatched away the ring, and had returned the Rod into the recess of his cloak.

"Your contribution will help most greatly, your majesty," Marik said, smirking triumphantly. "Now…I must depart…so go on…play with your little toys, my king…"

"Toys…" Yugi repeated distantly, hands slowly reaching out towards the little castle. "…Toys….games….that would be…pretty….fine…"

Marik nodded, slowly exiting from the side. "Yes it would be, my lord," he smirked. He eyed the glimmering ruby in his fingers. "…Very fine."

* * *

As soon as Marik had left the room, the smirk disappeared, and with every ounce of vigor in his body, he slammed the door shut. Growling, he pocketed the ring in his cloak and swept towards the directions of the basements.

"Idiotic fool," Marik muttered spitefully. "…If I had enough power over the Rod, that little twerp would not be sitting there on his throne, no he would not…"

Ra'Awaan raised his head in curiosity, and nuzzled Marik in his spiked up hair. To any passerby, it looked as though Ra'Awaan was almost whispering into his master's ear.

"I know it was my idea to not kill him," Marik berated harshly underneath his breath. "He serves a much better purpose alive than dead…the little fool will trust anyone with his brother and cousin gone…"

Stopping before a blank, golden door, the High Priest reached above his head and yanked hard on a decorative lavender sash. The door opened, revealing dark, winding steps. The Priest quickly slipped in, the door sliding shut behind him.

"Guaranteed as it is he might to give me the throne," Marik hissed, "I cannot wait that long. I am an impatient man, Ra'Awaan…an impatient man…and I will not let some feather-trouncing _pansy_ to take over my throne! Thank the Gods that the little white-haired wretch has not chosen a suitor yet…"

He had made it down the winding steps, and opened a second, much thicker wooden door, revealing a little, dark cavern with a few candles for lighting. Dark, heavy chains hung from the ceilings and the walls. Torture devices and weapons were hooked on display and easy access. A small fire was flickering in the crooked fireplace, warming what looked like a large amber hourglass with triangular prisms rather than the traditional hourglass shape. The prism's glass sides flickered menacingly as Marik passed by, shoving all of the things on a wooden table aside.

"I have not even mastered all of the powers of the Rod," Marik growled lowly. "That idiotic priest Seto must've added his own special charm to prevent me from learning every magical aspect of the Rod…I always knew he suspected me of something…"

Ra'Awaan ruffled his wings in agreement, and raising them, took flight into his perch high on the marble shelves. He watched like a loyal raven as his master bent into the fireplace and took, with his bare hands, the pot boiling the hourglass by its brass handle. Not even wincing, Marik dumped the hourglass out onto the table, watching as the excess liquid melted away as it cooled. Once it had, Marik carefully straightened the hourglass right side up, revealing a hole at the top with a little bridge to place a ring in. Slowly, Marik reached into his cloak and took out the Ruby of Osiris.

"…But don't worry Ra'Awaan," Marik breathed as he rotated the ring between his finger and thumb, admiring the cuts from all angles. "We'll have our power soon…very soon…"

And then, Marik took the hourglass closer to himself, and carefully placed the ring right in the hole.

* * *

Soon, night had fallen over Egypt. As usual, the skies were clear, the shimmering moon was high above, and there was a cool, light, calming breeze coaxing through the palm leaves outside Ryou's bedroom. His bedroom was on the fifth floor, as he didn't being _too_ high. There was a wide, circular balcony jutting out, painted white and canopied with white and blue canvases and scarves. Ryou loved being on his balcony. It made him feel safe and calm and at peace…something he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

Sitting next to the fence that surrounded the balcony, Ryou reached over and caressed a floating palm leaf in the wind. He gave another sigh.

"I don't want to marry," he whispered. "…I can't marry…not to someone I don't love…"

He raised his head and turned it to the right slightly. Below him was the kingdom of Egypt, their little villages of flickering lights twinkling like rows of a loyal audience. Ryou winced and looked away.

"…Even if it is for the good of the country."

Shaking his head, Ryou stood up, and slowly returned to his room. He was donning a simple, long linen robe, of a light blue color with a white sash. He tied the sash a bit more securely around his waist, and, making a determined face, he headed towards his closet.

"If I leave," he whispered to himself, "then I could be free. No more arranged marriage, no more deaths, no more missing family members and no more dying." He picked up a heavy blue cloak and held it in his hands. "…No more palace life…" He quickly dropped the cloak and began scrimmaging around for something a bit more appropriate. "Only palace life has terrible assassins and mysterious deaths. If I leave, I can live a life of a commoner, free of royal burdens with just my potential to get me around…I can be me…"

Finally, he managed to find what he wanted: a brown, coarse linen cloak, a little ragged at the bottom and light enough to not weigh him down. Finding rough sandals, he strapped them onto his feet and wrapped the cloak around him. As a final touch, he swept his long white hair, the pride of both sisters and him, and tied it into a ponytail. The cloak's hood was then placed over his head, concealing his rare silver beauty.

In truth, Ryou actually didn't know that much about palace life…or of the outside life, for that matter. Since he was so late in line to be heir, Ryou never had much of a duty. He never had to attend the princely lessons, nor did he ever have the chance to walk outside the palace walls. He had been a protected, innocent child, growing up in the recess of the palace with nothing but to eat, sleep, study a little, and play. He never needed a playmate…he always had his sister, even if Kisara was too busy to come and visit once in a while. Amane was always with him, no matter what. They were the best-est of friends, as well as siblings.

Tucking all the strands of his hair into the hood, Ryou bent down to pick up a small bag of his belongings. A necklace that once belonged to Kisara, and a beaded hair accessory from Amane. It was all he could bring to remind him of his sisters…now gone and never to return.

"I won't end up like that," Ryou bit his lip and left his closet, quietly shutting it behind him. "…I won't end up like that…I'll never marry someone I don't love. I will never give up another loved one for the good of the kingdom anymore…"

That said, Ryou raised his arm and quickly pulled on the cord to turn off the oil lamps. When his room was utter blackness, Ryou quickly stole away out his bedroom door, and headed in the directions of the outer palace walls.

When he reached the gardens, he saw Mashiro curled up in the flower beds. A soft smile lit up Ryou's face, and before he left, he bent over and gave Mashiro a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for everything," he whispered to his Ka. "I'll miss you, Mashiro."

The little marshmallow Ka purred in his sleep, but didn't wake up. Tip-toeing away, Ryou reached the high, palace walls, and spied the large tree whose vines escaped and bent over the walls. Ryou smiled at his luck and clumsily climbed up the tree, and with all his courage, he shimmied down the vine.

Before him stood Egypt, vast and dark. Without further ado, Ryou bent the hood over his head, and quickly stole away into the night.

* * *

5 pages, but I didn't have enough time to do much this weekend. I hope you guys liked this chapter…I really liked how Marik is portraying Jafar here. Marik as Jafar is AWESOME!

Please read and review!


	4. Street Mouse

Chapter Four: Street Mouse

The next morning rose, and it was just another typical day in the marketplace near the Niles. The slaves were back working on the great tomb that was slowly being finished; the women were bargaining and trading, and the men were working on the farms.

"Okay," Bakura whispered. "And now…Go!"

And our wonderful thief Bakura was hiding on one of the canopies of the marketplace booth; below him was a fat merchant with a misplaced wig and at least two chins selling a whole pile of melons. Though he didn't want to admit it, Bakura had been eating a bit too much meat lately, and to Diabound's insistence (Boundo's nagging and Dia-Dia's sad whining), Bakura had given in and promised to steal fruit today.

Grinning broadly, Dia-Dia nodded his head, and saluted dutifully, before flittering down under the canopy. Grinning, Bakura tiptoed to the opposite side of the canopy where Diabound had left, and listened carefully.

"Melons! Get your melons here! Oranges! Finest oranges from Greece!!"

The chubby merchant offered each said item eagerly to passersby, but they merely passed by. From the corner of eye, the little merchant caught sight of Diabound, who was trying to lift one of the cantaloupes with his little wings.

"Oi!" the merchant exclaimed. "Don't you touch those you…you…"

He quickly ran over to grab the melon. Diabound looked surprised. Shoulders sagging, Dia-Dia pouted, looking near tears for either being caught or being denied food. The serpent half of him quickly jerked his head, trying to think of a good excuse and slithered his tongue at the merchant.

"Ooohh…" chanted Boundo, beginning to wave his cobra head at the merchant. "I am the mystical Ka of the future….and if you spare me and give me food, I shall tell you yours…!"

"Ha," the merchant laughed. He put his hands on his hips. "And do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?"

Boundo paused for a moment, before grinning innocently, showing off his fangs. "…Yes?"

The merchant jumped a bit and growled, launching himself at Diabound. "Gack…come…come here you, you dirty wretched thing!"

"Melons!" Dia-Dia chimed, quickly diving after one of the cantaloupes. However, the merchant was much faster, and quickly snatched it from the Dia-Dia.

"HA!" the merchant grinned triumphantly. "How's THAT for a big bad Ka of the future?"

Boundo raised his head, watching discreetly at how Bakura's arms slowly came into view from the top of the canopy and how he was slowly picking two juicy cantaloupes. Boundo grinned.

"Oooooh, you will regret yourself, wicked mortal!" Boundo said loudly. "The Ka of the Future has been denied its food…curse you and your products you shall sell forthwith today…! Be warned, oh selfish mortal, for while you may keep your greed, you will also lose your fortune…"

Picking this up, Bakura's arms quickly snatched some more oranges and even snagged a pack of bananas. He gave Diabound the thumbs up.

Boundo grinned. "CURSE YOU, MORTAL!"

"Booooo!" Dia-Dia agreed, waving his arms like a ghoul. "Lookies! There!"

"Huh?" the merchant said. He turned around. "Where?" Then he noticed that his food were gone. "What---"

"Oooooooooh," Dia-Dia sang as he flew away. "OOOooooooooOOOh."

And so forth, the poor merchant was left, wondering what the hell just happened, while Bakura and Diabound feasted above him.

The merchant shuddered. Maybe there really _was_ a Ka of Future.

"Nice job, Diabound," Bakura praised. He quickly packed the food into his bag except for a cantaloupe. Hitting it directly onto his knee, he broke it cleanly in half, and handed one to Diabound. "Here you go, Diabound. Breakfast is served."

Dia-Dia licked his lips, looking most happy as he dived right into the fruit. Since the melon was about half his size, Dia-Dia looked as though he was swimming in a little miniature pool of cantaloupe.

"Oh ew," Boundo whined, writhing. "I'm going to be sticky!!!!!"

"Yum," Dia-Dia replied, his hands scooping the fruit into his mouth. "YUM!"

Bakura shook his head in his hood (he was wearing an old cloak today; there had been a sandstorm in the early morning), biting into his own cantaloupe. He dug into his bag and took out a ragged sash he had once ripped from falling off a curtain while he was attempting to steal some dried meat "…Here. Clean yourself up with this."

Straining, Boundo attempted to extract himself from Dia-Dia, who seemed to insist on swimming in the fruit. With an exasperated sigh, Boundo managed to snag the end of the sash with his teeth, and began wiping his head against it.

"Ew ew ew ew ew…"

Snickering, Bakura continued eating his fruit, momentarily enjoying watching Boundo in his spaz. But since Bakura had seen this often enough, his eyes started wandering…and wandering…and wandering…

In the distance, Ryou was slowly making his way around the marketplace. At the sight of each new booth, his eyes widened and glowed with great curiosity and interest. He was clutching his hood shyly to himself to cover his hair, and no one really paid much attention to his pale skin as he made his way about the people.

"Sugar dates!" merchants called. "Sugar dates and figs! Sugar dates and pistachios!"

Ryou giggled as nuts flew at him from the skinny merchant's overly eager hands. He caught one as it hit his chest and shyly placed it back into the bowl of the booth. "Thank you," he murmured quietly, blushing slightly. "But no thank you…"

He passed by the sugar dates and figs booth, and walked slowly down the street. A friendly looking man with a big, fancy wig held up a necklace as he passed by.

"Would the lady like a pretty necklace? A pretty necklace for a pretty lady?"

Instantly, Ryou blushed, as he was often mistaken for a girl on many occasions. He shook his head and smiled apologetically, politely rejecting the necklace, and headed on his way.

"FRESH FISH!"

He jumped back, startled as literally, a blue fish was thrust into his face.

"WE CATCH 'EM, YOU BUY EM!!"

Coughing self-consciously, Ryou shook his head and smiled a little. "…No…no thanks, but that's…very kind of you- oops!!"

Not even noticing the mime behind him, Ryou had accidentally bumped into the little short boy, who had been attempting to swallow fire. In the process, Ryou's hood had fallen from his head, revealing his white hair, but everyone was too busy looking at the mime, who was choking on the fire to notice Ryou.

"Oh! I'm sorry, sir, are you okay?" Ryou quickly bent down to see the boy's face. The bald-headed boy's eyes were lined darkly with eyeliner, and his forehead was dotted with strange designs. "…Sir?"

The boy coughed a bit, before bellowing out fire. Ryou immediately jumped and hurried away.

"Once again…sorry, very sorry!" he apologized, bowing repeatedly as he hurried to make his exit. The mime merely looked him at strangely, before coughing out another flame of fire. The audience applauded as Ryou smiled weakly and turned away. Smiling to himself, Ryou slowly adjusted his hood, and quietly headed his way.

Bakura wasn't entirely sure what came over him. All he knew was that one moment, he was eating melon, and the next moment, all the delicious juices seemed to have disappeared, and all he could see was large, beautiful brown eyes and long, strikingly gorgeous silver hair.

He watched, eyes wide, cheeks full of melon, as the young boy stumbled into the mime. His hood had fallen off, and instantly, Bakura was attracted to the long, gorgeous ponytail of spun silver, and the adorable, clumsy stutter of the boy's apology, and the breathtaking depths of his eyes.

The boy smiled softly to himself, something that Bakura remembered distantly that he thought was a pretty thing to do. Looking shyly up to adjust his hood, the boy raised his thin, porcelain arms, and covered his hair, before looking curiously to the side.

He wasn't sure how he got there, but the next moment, Bakura found himself lying on his side on the canopy, his head turning slowly in the direction that the boy was going. Behind him, Dia-Dia made a strange, curious grunt, and Boundo was arching a scaly eyebrow.

Feeling obviously neglected, Dia-Dia fluttered from his melon and curled himself onto Bakura's head. He waved an arm in front of Bakura's eyes. _Hello?_

Boundo slowly cocked his head to the side, noting his master's glazed look. As though suddenly coming to realization, Boundo quickly motioned Dia-Dia to bend down to talk to him. Looking very worried and disappointed that he was being neglected, Dia-Dia bent down, complaining through worried whining and grunts.

"I was afraid this was going to happen," Boundo whispered into Dia-Dia's ear. "…He's finally going to go through the 'awkward stage.'"

Even after Boundo explained to Dia-Dia what 'awkward stage' meant, Dia-Dia's horrified and immature cry did not startle Bakura out of his trance.

* * *

Smiling serenely to himself, Ryou continued on his way about the marketplace. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a little boy, wearing nothing but a ragged skirt reaching for an apple.

At this sight, Ryou's heart weighed down in his heart. Taking pity on the small boy, Ryou slowly reached out and took an apple from the stall and handed it to the boy.

"You must be hungry." Ryou smiled gently. "Here you go."

The boy took it in his hands, and a grateful, touched smile spread across his face. Ryou gave one back in return and patted the boy on the head. "Off you go now…"

Nodding, the boy ran for it, well aware of the big, looming man now coming out of the stall behind Ryou.

"You better be able to pay for that…" the man growled menacingly.

Ryou paused and frowned softly. "…Pay?"

Suddenly, with great vigor, his shoulder was wrenched to the side and he was faced with a man who was large, towering, and looked very heavy. His angry eyes were glaring down at Ryou beneath his turbaned head; his other hand was at his hip, and his foot was tapping dangerously.

A hand shot out and grabbed Ryou around the collar. "_No one_ steals from _my_ booth!" the man hissed, lifting Ryou up. Squeaking, Ryou struggled aimlessly at the man's grip, his feet kicking in the air.

"B-but, if you can just- l-let me go…" Ryou tried his best to force the iron fist from his shirt. "I can promise I can get s-some money from the ph-pharaoh!"

"Pharaoh?" the man snorted, shoving Ryou against the wooden table of his booth. "Do you take me for an idiot? Do you even know the punishment is for STEALING?" A heavy sword was raised into the air. Ryou's eyes widened as it started to descend.

"No! No please!!"

"HOLD it right there sir." A hand had shot out to grab the hilt of the sword, impending its descent. A young boy, taller than Ryou, quickly pushed his way in front of him. "Excuse me." He turned to Ryou, and the sharp, brown-red eyes instantly took Ryou aback. Before Ryou could even comprehend the silver strands that were hidden in the cloak's hood, the stranger was forcing Ryou quickly away.

"I've been looking all over for you," the stranger was muttering. Ryou blinked and looked at the man incredulously.

"What? I don't know y—"

A big hand landed on the stranger's shoulder with a thump. While Ryou's heart froze over in fear, the stranger merely stood still, not even turning back to face the giant of a merchant sneering down at him.

"You ah…" he gestured to Ryou, who meekly shrank into himself. "Know this…girl?"

_Girl?_ Ryou repeated in his head incredulously. He bit his lip. _Oh well…even if they catch me, at least they won't think I'm the prince…_

What made Ryou more mortified though, was that the stranger actually _nodded his head._

"Sadly yes," the stranger sighed, turning to face the merchant. He shrugged in an almost apologetic manner. "She's my sister," he explained, gesturing to Ryou. In a whisper, he said, "She's a little crazy…"

Ryou was about to object when the merchant suddenly grabbed the stranger and forced him into the wall of another booth. "She SAID she knew the PHARAOH!"

The stranger laughed, almost convincingly so, despite his chest being obviously crushed by the merchant's big hands. "She thinks the flower pot is the pharaoh."

It was only then did Ryou actually notice a big plaster flowerpot next to him. It was large, about up to his waist. A little palm tree was sprouting out of it, decorated with red, yellow and black ribbons. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ryou actually did kind of think the leaves resembled Yugi's hair, but---

Catching the stranger's hinted expression, Ryou scowled back and looked at the plant.

_I'm never going to forgive myself for this._ Blushing furiously, Ryou got onto his knees and bowed.

"Oh wise pharaoh…." He snuck a peek at the crowds of people and blushed harder. "…how may I serve you…?"

_Ra I'm so embarrassed…_

The stranger laughed, making Ryou flush even more. "See? She thinks the plant is the pharaoh." Ryou didn't see it, but he could hear the boy slowly but firmly pushing away the merchant's hands, and starting to shuffle towards him.

"If you will excuse us," the boy grabbed Ryou's arm harshly and forced him up. "I need to bring her to a doctor…she shouldn't really be out here alone…" The boy wrapped his arms around Ryou's shoulders, inadvertently tugging Ryou's hood over his eyes to shield all of Ryou's hair. "Come now, we should get going…"

Ryou coughed a bit, feeling a bit nervous as a stranger was carting him off. "S-sure…"

Suddenly, the merchant shot out his hand again, and grabbed the stranger's hood off. Ryou was shocked to see locks of sharp white hair released in a flurry of white. The stranger seethed and tightened his grip on Ryou.

"YOU!" the merchant bellowed. Several people screamed.

"It's him again!"

"The White-Haired Thief!"

"Get him!"

But no one really wanted to get the stranger, thankfully enough. Quicker than lightening, he grabbed Ryou and shot off with him down the market road.

"Run," the boy hissed. "Run if you want to live!"

Nodding, Ryou hurried to run as fast as he could. Although there were some noblemen who wanted to go after the thief, most of the peasants, farmers, and women were merely standing about, laughing as they watched the little thief run off with his new friend.

"Such a lovely child," a mother commented as she shook her head. A farmer chuckled as he inadvertently tripped over a noble who was furious to go after the thief.

"Ah, that Bakura," the peasant chuckled. "He's finally startin' to grow up."

* * *

"This should be far enough," the stranger muttered. "I think we'll be okay from here."

Stumbling, Ryou collapsed onto the ground, panting from the exertion. The thief took a pause too, resting his palms against his knees, breathing harshly.

"Where…" Ryou took a deep breath, gasping. "Where are we?"

Blinking, the thief raised his head, and looked around his surroundings. Once again, they were out on the mounds of dunes, in the wide desert away from the palace marketplace. In the distance, the thief spied on the crumbling beige structure that was the incomplete pyramid. He looked back at Ryou, then huffed slightly, and held out his hand.

Ryou paused and looked at the dirty hand warily. The thief snorted and huffed again.

"Well? Do you trust me?"

Blinking, Ryou watched the hand warily, before he took it. Some part of him feared that the thief was going to kidnap him and enslave him, but the logical part of his mind overran that theory. After all, the thief had saved him…and was being nice to him. Surely the thief wouldn't kidnap him….he didn't even know Ryou's worth.

"Where are we going?" asked Ryou, as he was pulled up. The thief arched an eyebrow and nodded towards the construction sites.

"There," he said simply. Ryou took a brief look at the fragmented structures and sighed. Clutching the thief's hand, he followed the thief throughout the winding dunes, towards the towering buildings and the setting sun.

"So…." Ryou attempted to make conversations as they neared the constructions sites. Squinting, Ryou saw what he thought were worker tents and wooden carts. At least they were nearing the pyramids now..

* * *

"So…" Again, Ryou attempted to make some conversation as he followed the thief by sliding down the sandy dunes. He winced when his soft skin burned harshly against the ground, but there was nothing he could do about it. He bit his lip. "Thanks…for saving me today."

The previously silent thief paused, and shook his head. With a rather unimpressed look, the white-haired boy turned back to look at the royalty-in-disguise.

"Whatever," the thief shrugged. He turned back towards the pyramids. "I don't really think you realize how dangerous Egypt can be. What, is this your first time out or something?"

Faintly, Ryou found that he was blushing, as the thief was probably right. Sighing, Ryou got to his feet, watching quietly as the thief grabbed a long, sturdy stick and began to hike his way up a tall hill of sand.

"….Yeah," Ryou admitted, as he tried to climb up the mound with his fingers. When he reached the top, he watched as the thief merely slid down gracefully. Ryou himself, however, found himself rolling about to get down.

The thief snorted and stopped Ryou mid-roll, and pulled the boy up.

"Yeah, I can tell," the thief remarked. He gazed at Ryou sharply with his red eyes. "What were you thinking? Don't you KNOW you have to pay to get food?"

Feeling a little indignant, Ryou blushed and shook his hand away from the thief's grasp.

"I'm well aware of that," Ryou insisted. "I just…the poor boy looked so hungry and all I wanted was to give him some food…"

The thief shook his head and snorted again. "Nice to know that you have a soft heart, but in this world, it's either you or him. He starves or you do. If you're willing to give up your neck for someone else, it's your choice, but nothing comes free here." The thief turned back and glanced at the pyramid before him. "Everything comes at a price."

Sighing again, Ryou slowly pushed himself away from the mounds and strolled onto the construction site with his white-haired companion. High above them, the mountains of sand were held at bay by wooden walls plastered with mud. The actual construction site was a great big square hold in the sand, filled with mud and muck that had been pattered dry and hard by armies of working feet. Ryou wrinkled his nose at the smell of the mud, but he couldn't help but become intrigued at the vast majority of work before him.

The intricacy of it all! Great stone pillars that were finished in design but dusted by sand. Tall stalks of wooden beams that held together stepladders, levels and stories for workers to sit and stand. Buckets of plaster and hay mixture to pack in details and to sculpt. Ryou had to take in a moment to marvel at it all. Was this truly how much work that had to be done to create one single tomb?

As dirty and mucky as it all was, to Ryou, there was a strange, haunting beauty of a pyramid in progress. There was something beautiful about the way the moon was rising, how it reflected off the head of the pyramid, revealing its nearly twinkling eyes and the soft shades of its nose, cheeks and lips. In the moonlight, the great pharaoh's head looked nearly real, despite his rather rigid contours and blank eyes.

Ryou couldn't help but smile. Even incomplete, the pyramid was beautiful.

"Will you quit staring?" a huffed voice asked.

Ryou was quickly startled out of his gazing. He quickly turned to the thief, who was already at least a twenty meters ahead of him, his hands on his hips and looking a little annoyed.

"If you want to look at the Pharaoh's head you've got a whole lifetime to do that," the thief called. "It's not finished yet."

"I don't care." Ryou quickly pushed himself away from glancing at the pyramid and quickly ran to catch up with the thief. "It's beautiful."

The thief stood and looked at him incredulously. "Beautiful?" the thief repeated. "The thing's not even done…."

Ryou shook his head. "I don't care." Ryou looked up again at the pyramid. "It's beautiful. I can't wait till it's done."

"I'll call you about it next century then," the thief noted sarcastically. "Come on." He gestured for Ryou to quickly hurry up. "We haven't got much time. I bet your feet are aching after all that walking."

Ryou winced when he realized that taking another step did hurt a bit. "Yeah…you're right," he admitted. The thief snorted.

"All the more reason to hurry up." And without even waiting for Ryou's reply, the thief began to jog back towards the pyramid. Startled, Ryou quickly hurried after him.

"H-hey! Wait for me!"

* * *

"Okay…just watch your step there."

Slowly, Ryou made his way up the winding staircases. Once they had reached the pyramids, the thief had taken much more liberty to take care of Ryou rather than just calling him to hurry up. Apparently there were many traps about, even if they were unfinished.

"Here," the thief grunted. He hoisted Ryou up by the wrist onto the little floor beneath the trapdoor that led to his alcove. "It's really not much…"

For some reason, seeing the thief attempting to be a host almost amused Ryou. At any rate, he couldn't help but giggle when the thief tried to pull down the trapdoor and ended up getting a bag of sand dumped on his head.

"…Um…yeah," the thief said awkwardly. He coughed and hoisted himself through the trapdoor and into the alcove. "Yeah….sorry if the place's a mess…."

He quickly hoisted Ryou up too, who followed and crawled through the trap door. It took a while for Ryou to sink in where he finally was, but when he did, he certainly cherished it.

"It's very…." Ryou looked about. "Homely."

The thief snorted again and closed the trap door. "Nice of you to think so," the thief smirked. He bowed mockingly. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Ryou giggled, finding the thief, who was no longer a stranger, almost humorous. But it was the truth. The place did have a very homey feeling that Ryou was certainly not used to. All his life, the palace had been his home, but it had always been extremely neat and nit-picked to perfection. Although the alcove could use a little cleaning, the messiness of the cloaks and sheets and chipped dinnerware made the alcove looked so much more lived in. In the corner Ryou spied on a little, thin straw mattress. He quickly crawled over to it and petted it lightly with the tips of his fingers.

"You sleep here?" he inquired. The thief nodded his head.

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

Rather than being intimidated, Ryou actually laughed, and slowly crawled onto the mattress. Surprisingly, it was soft, even though Ryou could feel the hardness of the floor through it. The thief caught Ryou's puzzled yet content look and threw him a pillow.

"Here. Rest your feet on it," the thief instructed. "I'm going to see if you broke anything or not on the way here."

Ryou smiled. "It's nice to know that you're concerned," he said sincerely. He bent forwards to remove his slippers. "Thanks…"

The thief shrugged and sat before Ryou, cocking his head from side to side, analyzing the injuries first. As Ryou relaxed, he noticed a little something moving about in the thief's bag….when a cobra raised his head from under the bag, Ryou gave a scream.

"What?" the thief exclaimed, jumping.

Ryou shuddered and quickly stepped back. "That!"

The cobra jumped too, and raised his head. "What?" he protested. Ryou squealed again.

"It talks!"

"Of course it talks!" the thief laughed. He grabbed the snake and pulled it out, revealing a boy hanging off on the other side on the torso. The thief chuckled as he cradled the human-half of the hybrid into his arms. "Helpless victim, Diabound. Diabound, helpless victim."

The human-half of Diabound chirruped happily in the thief's arms and waved. "Hello," he said happily, his speech a tad bit slurred. Ryou blinked a few times.

"Aw, let's not be so prejudiced," the cobra said, though his tone was not menacing at all. He reared back and flicked his tongue at Ryou. "So….what's your name?"

Ryou blinked again, and slowly slid back down onto the mat. "….What's yours?" he quickly asked. The snake arched a scaly eyebrow.

"Well, WE'RE Diabound," he said, cocking his head to the sleepy-looking human half. "….But I'm Boundo. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Ryou said weakly. He looked back up at the thief. "Is he…is he your Ka?"

The thief nodded, absent-mindedly scratching the human half's horns. The cobra noted Ryou's puzzled look and supplied, "That's Dia-Dia. If you scratch him there he becomes putty."

Dia-Dia gave a purr.

Ryou blinked, slowly relaxing again. Despite first impressions, neither the thief nor his Ka seemed menacing at all. In fact, Dia-Dia looked positively like a small child enjoying his older brother's affections!

Ryou blinked. "May I…may I pet him?" he asked tentatively. The thief paused in his scratching (Dia-Dia whined) but looked at Ryou suspiciously.

"Why?"

Immediately, Ryou felt ashamed for acting so forward; drawing back, he unconsciously raised a hand to his cheeks to hide his blush. Suddenly, he couldn't seem to meet the thief's eyes.

"Uh…well…I-it's nothing," Ryou said quickly. He cleared his throat and quickly looked out the window in the alcove, noting the dying tints of orange and magenta in the skies. _The sun's setting,_ Ryou thought distantly.

Suddenly, a warm being was pushed into his arms. Caught off guard, Ryou's immediate reaction was to cradle the thing in his arms, and it was then he realized that he was holding the thief's treasured Ka.

Diabound slowly turned his head to one side, almost seeming to size Ryou up. Before long, however, Dia-Dia's lips broke into a friendly smile, and he tentatively nuzzled Ryou's chest. Extremely surprised, Ryou found that he couldn't move for the few seconds that Diabound nuzzled him; the thing was so gentle, so warm and so lovable… it was so hard to believe it was a Ka.

Even the snake portion of Diabound raised his head, licking up Ryou's arm slightly with a flicker of his tongue, to analyze Ryou's scent. The cobra raised his head higher, looking up at Ryou, before swiveling his head back and forth.

"You just gonna hold us, or what?" the snake asked. Jumping, Ryou was started out of his gaze, and before long, he also broke into a smile.

"…Sorry," Ryou said softly, and shifted his arms slightly to accommodate to the snake. The cobra gave a little hum of approval, before stretching out and wrapping itself comfortably around Ryou's arm. For a moment, Ryou stiffened at the idea of a reptile slowly curling around his arm, but he slowly relaxed; Boundo had been kind so far, so it was very unlikely that the cobra would do him any arm.

Carefully, Ryou shifted his weight and brought Diabound closer to his chest. Almost like a mother to her newborn child, Ryou slowly cupped Dia-Dia's head as it lay in the crook of Ryou's arm and against his chest. His soft fingers slowly began to scratch Dia-Dia's horns…the little Ka gave a happy moan, and actually curled up into Ryou's arms, his wings wrapped about him like a blanket.

"He certainly likes you."

Blinking, Ryou raised his head. Before him, the thief had sat down closer to him, one knee up and one arm resting over it. His face held an expression of impressed irony, like as if he didn't quite want to admit how much Diabound was taken with Ryou. The thief leaned over, and also joined in petting Diabound. The Ka purred and fluttered his wings at all the attention he was getting.

Noting that Dia-Dia was certainly getting a lot of affection, Ryou then switched gears and began to stroke the long, smooth body of Boundo. The snake almost seemed surprised; when he raised his head, he was eyeing Ryou with a look of incredulity.

"Wow…you actually pay attention to me!" Boundo exclaimed.

A hand shot out from the thief's side and smacked the snake lightly in the head. "Boundo! Be polite!"

The snake merely ducked, rolled his eyes and lowered his head. "I am polite! I'm just mentioning the fact that he actually gives me a little bit of attention more than you do, you little brat!"

The thief snorted and tapped Boundo on the head. "Who're you calling brat?" the thief chuckled. Boundo smirked and slid into the corner of Ryou's elbow.

"You guess."

The thief chuckled and resumed petting Dia-Dia's wings, only this time, he ended his strokes along Boundo's slithery frame. Ryou watched in curiosity. So apparently the thief wasn't entirely crude…

"So…" the thief looked up again, crimson-brown eyes in curiosity. "What were you doing out there in the marketplace anyway? I haven't seen you around here before."  
Blushing almost immediately under his scrutiny, Ryou lowered his head and gently petted Diabound on the head. "…Well…I…" He stammered a bit shyly, before continuing. "…I'm new here, I guess," he lied, very badly.

"You've never been to the marketplace before?" the thief asked. Ryou blushed a deeper shade of red and shook his head.

"N-No…at least…not this one," he said. He wasn't sure what else he could say after that. "…What about you?" He raised his head and looked at the thief's young face. "Is this your first time here too?"

The thief's face split into a boyish grin. "Ha! You kidding me? All the farmers and wives know me around there. And some of the workers too here, when you think about it. I don't know." He slumped onto the ground, grin still in place. Ryou watched as the thief stretched onto the floor, looking less and less like a law-defying 'evil' civilian that the palace royalty had always despised, and more and more into a normal boy. "…I guess everyone kind of knows me around here…except for the guards, which is pretty sad when you think about it."

"Have you ever been caught?" Ryou whispered. The thief snorted.

"Caught?" the boy repeated. "Sure, plenty of times, but I've always gotten away, so no, I've never been caught." The crimson-brown eyes twinkled at Ryou. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

Despite his blush, Ryou actually found himself holding back a giggle. There was something charming about the boy's rough and erratic demeanor. There almost seemed to be a live fire alit in the boy's very soul, ready to roar and spread at the slightest provocation, and yet, ready to slither down into a little, quiet flame whenever the time was right.

Ryou found himself thinking how much he actually liked that fire.

"Do you live here…alone?" Ryou asked softly. He began to regret his question as soon as he realized the boy's grin dying away into a dark scowl. "I mean…sorry..I didn't mean to say anything…"

The thief shrugged and shook it off, looking away from Ryou. "It's fine," the boy muttered. "…And yeah, I live here alone. With Diabound. That's all."

Ryou's shoulders sagged and he looked up at the thief, who had rolled away from him. "…I can understand," Ryou whispered very quietly. He looked away too. "I know what it's like…to lose a family when you're young."

The thief perked up and turned around. "You lost your family too? How?"

Ryou couldn't raise his eyes. "…I don't really like talking about it," he said quietly. "…But I…I know what it feels like…to lose so many things that you love…and… "He looked back down at Diabound, who had fallen peacefully asleep in his arms. "…to cherish… the little things that you…have now."

He heard the boy slowly sit up, and cross his legs. After a deep silence, the boy reached out and briefly touched Ryou's hair.

"…Where do you come from?"

At the little touch, Ryou blushed softly, and brushed his hair back, inadvertently brushing against the soft fingers of the thief's. "…From someplace I don't ever want to go back to," Ryou sighed. "…I ran away, and I'm definitely not going back."

He slowly raised his eyes, almost shyly at the thief. "…What about you?"

The thief paused, and slowly dropped his hand. "…I come from a far away place too," the thief said quietly. "…But I don't think I can ever go back."

Blinking slowly, Ryou lowered his gaze again, and noticed the thief's hand on his lap. Suddenly overcame by the feeling of deep melancholy and remorse, Ryou reached out to the thief's hand, and shyly closed upon it.

"…Neither can I," Ryou whispered. He raised his head again. "Thanks …for saving my life …today."

The thief blinked, but didn't pull away. In fact, the thief's head and also started to lower, his eyes also shifting shyly away. Despite himself, Ryou couldn't help but giggle at the idea of the thief blushing beneath his white bangs.

Despite all that the thief was, Ryou was certain that at least the thief was adorably cute.

"It's no problem," the thief mumbled, slowly bending forwards so their faces drew closer and closer together. "…People like us…we got to…watch out for each other …you know?"

Ryou nodded, his blush turning into a lovely shade of pink at their closeness. "…Yeah…" he whispered. "…Thanks…again."

There it was. Their lips. So close, so close. Ryou thought it was only proper for him to close his eyes then and there.

He could feel the thief's breath wash upon his lips as he spoke.

"No…problem…"

"THERE HE IS!!"

Startled, both Ryou and Bakura jumped back. In the open trap door, the head and bust of the guard captain showed his ugly face, turban falling apart and dripping in front of his sweaty face.

"GET HIM!"

Crying out, Ryou and the thief immediately backed away, scrambling towards the open alcove. In an instant, Diabound was up and fluttering around in a panic, shooting back and froth across the room like an agitated wasp. As Ryou was panicking, thinking that the guards were after him for running away from the palace, Bakura was darting his eyes back and forth from the trapdoor to the window.

"Oh no oh no oh no," Ryou kept on chanting. "Oh no oh no Yugi must've sent them to get me and bring me back---Oh! I'm going to be in so much trouble!!!"

"Quit it!" the thief yelled from his window. White hair bristling, the thief looked out his window and spied the wooden racks below, where the workers normally were seated, chiseling. The racks were empty now. He looked back at Ryou. "Take my hand!"

Ryou blinked, gawking. "W-What?"

The thief shook his hand adamantly. "TAKE MY HAND!"

"B-But…"

"Do you trust me?"

Ryou blinked again, hesitantly holding out his hand. "I-..."

_"Do you trust me?"_

_  
_Biting his lip, Ryou slowly slid his hand into the thief's. Those brown-red eyes, so vivid and beautiful…

"…Yes?"

Far too quickly, Ryou was pulled against the thief, and they shot out the window. Ryou screamed.

"THEN JUMP!!"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Ryou clawed up the thief's arm and held onto the older boy tightly. Wind whistled in their ears. When Ryou peeked and saw the wooden beams coming at them, the thief quickly pulled Ryou close to him, bracing Ryou's fall as they smashed through the weak, wooden planks.

After a few quick bumps, both the thief and Ryou landed on a pile of sand with a heavy _fump._ Gasping, they quickly pulled themselves up and tried to run for it, when five soldiers came out from around the corner of the pyramid. Biting back a snarl, the thief immediately jerked Ryou around and they headed the other way, only to see at least ten more swarming from the other corner. Hissing, they momentarily paused to view their exits: a great big gap was in the middle between the soldiers on the left and right, leading straight to the desert. The thief swore and dragged Ryou after him into the gap.

The only thing that sucked about the desert, Bakura thought, was that there was nowhere to hide.

They ran as fast as they could, their feet pattering against the sand. But no matter how far or how fast they ran, there was no way they could outrun so many soldiers at once. Not two little teenagers against twenty full-grown men.

Soon the inevitable happened: Ryou tripped and fell into the sand. Cursing, the thief came back to help Ryou up, but it was too late. Twenty soldiers came running up at him, and slammed into him like a charging rhinoceros. The captain was running up, waving his sword like crazy, his turban unraveled and streaking after him.

"We got him! We got him! We got him! HOLD HIM DOWN!!"

Though the thief put up a great fight, Ryou was torn away from him as five men fought to hold the thief down. Two easily grabbed Ryou and hoisted him up, though he too fought like mad to get to the thief. The captain came up, dancing like mad, dark kohl smeared across his face from his sweat.

"Tie him down! We have him now!"

"Don't touch him!" Ryou cried. As hard as he could, he wrestled away from the soldiers holding him, and at the captain. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!!"

The captain wasn't even surprised when Ryou came at him, beating his fists on the captain's chest. In fact, despite his ragged demeanor, the captain merely chuckled and grabbed Ryou's wrists easily.

"Well well well, look what we have here!" He swiftly backhanded Ryou across the face. "A street _mouse_!"

The other soldiers laughed as Ryou flew into the ground, his linen sprawling about. Around him, he heard the thief being dragged to his feet, no doubt bound.

Panting hard, Ryou angrily stood up, glaring at the men around him.

"Unhand him!" He swiftly took off his hood. "By order of the Prince of Egypt!!"

The laughing abruptly stopped, and the triumphant grins turned into 'oh shit' grimaces. Likewise, the captain's eyes grew wide and he turned pale, before he quickly bowed.

"Prince Ryou!!"

Sputtering, the thief, who had also been forced down to bow, raised his head in disbelief. _What? The PRINCE?_

Holding himself with more authority than he felt, Ryou raised his head and tried to hold his glare at the large, bulky soldiers. Even bowing low, they still intimidated him.

"Unhand him," Ryou repeated again, though his voice was a little shaky. He pointed to the thief. "Unhand him at once!"

Mumbling apologies, the soldiers shuffled to their feet, looking between the thief to the captain unsurely. The captain smiled and chuckled weakly, stepping forwards towards Ryou.

"I would if I could, Prince," the captain said with a strained grimace. "But my orders come from Priest Marik…" He looked between the thief and the prince, his arms raised a little in a helpless sort of way. "I'm afraid you'll have to take it up with him."

All confidence gone, Ryou's shoulders sagged as he watched the guards gag the thief and start dragging him away. Bristling, Ryou hurried up to catch up the soldiers carrying the thief, but the captain stopped him.

"I'm afraid you can't touch him, your Highness," the captain apologized. "He's for Master Marik and Master Marik only."

"Why does the Priest want anything to do with him?" Ryou demanded. "He's just a thief!"

The captain shrugged and slowly began to tidy up his turban, as though trying to distract himself from the prince's questions. "He is a nuisance, my lord," the captain admitted. "That boy over there isn't any ordinary thief. He's been plaguing this part of Egypt for a while now; no one's been able to catch him." Finishing his turban, the captain fixed his beady glare onto Ryou. "You have a problem with his capture, you talk with Master Marik," the captain said boldly. Turning away, the captain began to head after the soldiers dragging the thief. "I'm only doing my job."

Feeling very defeated, Ryou stopped in his tracks, watching as the soldiers progressed slowly back to the castle. He was still very indignant about the whole situation, and when he saw the poor teenage boy being dragged through the sand so harshly, Ryou suddenly felt very confident again.

"Believe me," Ryou murmured to himself, watching his savior that day being heaved away, "I'll definitely ask Master Marik."

* * *

A/N: A tad bit weird, since Disney and YGO don't EXACTLY mix together. At any rate, I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter…partially. I'm more not really into the Gemshipping romance…I'm more interested in the funny images we get as Bakura as "Prince Akefi" and Malik as…Ooops! Maybe I shouldn't say so much now. Oh well, at least we all enjoy Diabound as a chibi.

Merry Christmas! Please read and **review**!


	5. A Prison Companion

EXAMS ARE OVER! But that doesnt' mean I'm off the hook for being busy...I hate volunteering sometimes. Especially at stuff I'm not good at.

Anyways, please read and review lots!! I spent a lot of time on this chapter! Please review lots and I'll try my best to update maybe next week!

-AL

* * *

Chapter Five: A Prisoner Companion 

Smiling, the Rod-wielding priest Marik slowly pursed his fingers together, peering over at the hourglass on his table. The sands within were swirling, revealing two soldiers making their way through the desert; between them, a teenage boy with messy white hair, bound and gagged. Marik chuckled a little. Despite his capture, the young boy seemed to be putting up quite a fight.

Chuckling, Marik slowly began to tap his fingers against one another, creating a rather spidery affect in the dim glow of the candles.

"So … that's the boy…" Marik smirked. He paused his fingers and rested his chin on them thoughtfully. "…The boy who can enter the Shadow of Wonders." Shifting his position, the Priest bent forwards, staring intently into the hourglass. "Hm…what's this? Our prince seems to be with him…"

The transparent silhouette of the white-haired Prince came into view; he was running hurriedly along, constantly peering over at the white-haired thief worriedly. Marik chuckled.

"Ah, the emotions of a love-stricken mortal…" He tapped the hourglass. "What's the boy's name?" he commanded the hourglass. The hourglass churned its sand a bit, before narrowing its view on the boy's face. For a thief in the harsh Egyptian desert, there were no blemishes on his face; not even a scratch or a menacing scar…

Beneath the image of the boy's face, the sands piled up and soothed themselves flat. As though controlled by some omniscient force, the trickle of sands through the pinch of the hourglass began to bend and curve: the result, a name was eventually scrawled in the flat surface of the hourglass sand.

Marik smirked and stood up, tucking his Rod into his cloak. Up on a high shelf, Ra-A'waan was sleeping soundly. Making a soft clucking noise, Marik bade his Ka to return to him. Faithfully, Ra-A'waan woke up, and flew to Marik's shoulder.

"What say you and I greet this? _Bakura_, hm?" Marik smirked and gave Ra-A'waan a bit of cracker to nibble on. Very regally, Ra-A'waan nodded his head, and took the cracker in his golden beaks. Marik smiled and headed out the door.

* * *

When Marik made it just out the door to the palace courtroom, it was already evening. The slaves had already lowered the blinds on most of the high windows in the courtroom, and the tiled and pillared room was empty. Marik smiled to himself and basked in the feeling of solitude. Solitude was a good feeling. 

He was about to shut and lock the door that secretly led to his hideaway, when he heard harsh footsteps into the courtroom. Hastily, he slid the door shut (as it was a wall, actually, that could slide open and shut on his command) and locked it with his Shadow magic.

"Priest Marik?"

He quickly turned around and looked up mildly.

"Ah, Prince Ryou," he greeted smoothly, bowing lightly as the Prince headed towards him. "And what may I help you with at this time of day? You know, it's quite dangerous to be out of your chambers at evening…"

Promptly, the Prince merely overrode Marik's suggestions, coming up straight to Marik and coming up only to Marik's chest. Though the Prince's expression wasn't radiating unhappiness, the slight furrow of his eyebrows and sharpness in his eyes hinted his displeasure. And Prince Ryou was not often displeased.

"Priest Marik, if I may have a word with you…" Ryou started quietly. Marik sufficiently cut him off.

"I really would if I could, prince," Marik said. "But I do have hasty matters to attend to. Do you need anything promptly? I can send one of my own servants to aid you…what is it you need? Another blanket? The furnaces on in your chambers?"

"Would your hasty matter have anything to do with a young thief caught today?" Ryou asked, stepping slightly in front of Marik to make sure the Priest could not move anywhere without first knocking Ryou to the side. Marik merely raised his eyebrows.

"A young thief?" he repeated. "Surely His Majesty doesn't need to indulge in petty captures such as a young thief…"

"Then you _did_ capture a thief?" Ryou asked. He looked up at Marik, his face mostly placid except for the slight sharpness in his brown eyes. Marik fought an urge to roll his.

"Yes, yes we did," Marik said stiffly. He took a step to the side. "Now really, His Majesty must head to bed…"

"On what account?" Ryou quickly stopped Marik again. He raised his head higher to meet the Priest's, trying to keep a hold on his dwindling patience. "I wasn't aware that petty thieves were supposed to be of Palace matters."

Marik snorted. "Well, of course he is of Palace matters, Prince," Marik exclaimed. "He is, after all, a rather skilled thief. He plagued the cities ruthlessly for days on end…do you realize this is the only time we've ever captured him and brought him back to the palace? And after all…" Here, Marik smirked, and gave the Prince a bow, slowly taking the Prince's hand. "…We couldn't let a uncouth peasant like that just kidnap the Prince away…"

Jerking his hand away from Marik's, Ryou looked up at the Priest incredulously. "He didn't kidnap me!" Ryou exclaimed. "Marik, I ran away! I know Yugi will kill me for it later, but I was running away! If you're sentencing him on the account of kidnapping me, it's unjust! It wasn't his fault!"

His patience dropping rapidly, Marik inwardly sighed harshly. On an instinctive whim on his suppressed frustration, he turned away from Ryou and mocked surprise.

"Oh…really?" Getting control on his emotions, Marik smirked as another wicked plan frothed in his head. Feigning regret, he turned back to Ryou. "…You mean, it wasn't his fault that he kidnapped you?"

Ryou sighed. "It's not his fault," Ryou insisted. "You must free him, Priest Marik, you must…"

Again, Marik feigned a pained sigh. "Oh, dear Prince, I would if I could…"

Ryou blinked, stepping back. "What…what do you mean?"

Hiding a smirk, Marik closed his eyes and outreached a hand. "I'm terribly sorry to inform you, dear Prince, but the thief has already been disposed of. If I had known sooner…"

"…Disposed of?" Ryou repeated hollowly. "…What could you mean by that…?"

Grimly, Marik raised himself to his full height.

"_Death_."

Gasping, Ryou's hand quickly came up to cover his mouth. The wide brown eyes grew wider, the sharpness in them disappearing entirely, leaving shock and disbelief.

"By impaling," Marik finished quietly. He watched as the Prince slowly turned away, inching towards a nearby pillar. Still in a state of shock, the Prince slumped against the pillar, and was still.

Slowly, Marik came up behind the Prince, and laid his hands on the Prince's shoulders.

"I'm truly _exceedingly _sorry, Your Majesty," Marik murmured. Jumping, Ryou turned to look at Marik with tearful brown eyes.

"…I…must go." Wiping his eyes, Ryou quickly stood and headed towards an exit out of the courtyard in quick, long strides, trying to hide his face as he wiped at his cheeks. Marik watched as the Prince finally left the room, his footsteps and quiet sobs echoing behind him.

Breaking out into a satisfied smile, Marik gently reached up and gave Ra-A'waan a light pat.

"You know, for someone as beautiful as he is," Marik said softly, thoughtfully stroking his Ka, "…he is rather dim, isn't he? …Dim and naïve…"

The Ka chirruped shortly in agreement, and raised his head, mimicking his master's smirk.

Pausing in his stroking, Marik regained himself and looked almost fondly at his Ka's direction.

"Well," he sighed with a smile, "I think that went…" Chuckling, Marik looked back at the exit the Prince had gone through, continuing to stroke Ra-A'waan, "…rather well, wouldn't you agree?"

* * *

Though it was evening, the Prince was out in the gardens, kneeling amongst the flowers. In his hand, there was a limp bouquet of the Palace's rarest flowers…as Mashiro bounced slowly towards his master, he noticed the little mound of soil where the flowers were attempted to be planted. Though the master's back was towards him, Mashiro saw a small tear trickle down the master's cheek, and fall onto the mound. 

Slowly coming up behind the Prince, Mashiro gave a small, mournful whine, gently nuzzling the Prince's back. Sniffling, the Prince looked up with his tearful, red eyes, and sadly looked back on the mound of soil.

"It was all my fault, Mashiro," he whispered. His pale finger went to stroke the mound of soil. "He saved my life, and yet…"

Ryou sniffled, and looked up at Mashiro. Breaking down in the silence of the garden, Ryou slumped against the white Ka, sniffing sadly. His own Ka, a shy, timid little girl with mismatched wings that was barely a fledging, came out from the forest of flowers at his lap and crawled onto his lap. She rarely came out (as she was weak and merely a baby); only whenever Ryou felt emotional enough to need her summon.

Sniffling, Ryou gently picked up his Ka, cradling her as he slumped against Mashiro. Mashiro whined softly and nuzzled Ryou's cheek, trying to cheer up his master.

Sniffling, Ryou gently held his Ka to his chest. "…I didn't even know his name."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the lowest, darkest pits of the Pharaoh's cell, a young boy was chained to the wall by his wrists and ankles. He was kneeling on the ground, his wrists above his head, chained to the wall. His tanned stomach sported many purple a bruise, and somewhere on the back of his head, his white hair was stained red from a cut. His face was dirty, and a light trail of blood flowed from the edge of his lips. 

Grunting, Bakura pulled against his binds, trying to release himself. It didn't work.

"Prince," Bakura grunted. "I can't believe he was a _prince!_" He paused and looked up thoughtfully. "…Or that he was even a _he_, when you think about it…"

A small clatter up above startled Bakura out of his ramblings. Looking up at the barred window of the dead-heavy wooden door, Bakura saw a familiar, small silhouette beating his wings, a ring of keys wrapped tightly within a snake's grasp…

Bakura grinned. "Diabound!"

Happy, Dia-Dia gave his master a wave from the window, before flying into the barred window. Grunting with effort, the small Ka squeezed his way through the spaces between the bars, the serpent following after him with the ring of keys.

"Awesome," Bakura breathed as Diabound flew his way towards him. Getting tired, Dia-Dia lowered himself onto the ground in front of Bakura's spread and chained legs, slumping exhaustedly. The serpent hissed a little before looking up at Bakura with his narrowed red eyes.

Bakura scowled. "Oh what now?"

Boundo rattled his tongue in a fashion much like blowing a disgusted raspberry. "Oh like you don't know."

Bakura sighed. "Okay, okay, I got caught, but we've gotten caught before, right?"

"No, no, not that," Boundo snorted. He huffed and slithered into the ring of keys, drawing it further away from Bakura. Curling around the curve of the ring, Boundo laid his head against it, looking rather close to interrogating Bakura. "You don't get it?"

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "No…"

From behind Boundo, Dia-Dia whined. Feeling very unappreciated, Dia-Dia shoved the serpent out of the way and began randomly waving his hands, looking close to a child throwing a temper tantrum. Bakura watched the arms wave intently, but still didn't understand.

"…A bit slower this time?"

Huffing, Dia-Dia crossed his arms and pouted at Bakura. Boundo slithered up to help.

"Ooh, wait, maybe this might help!" Clearing his throat, Boundo turned his face to the side and batted his eyelashes, which had somehow grown for the occasion. Nodding vigorously, Dia-Dia gave Bakura his best impression of the widest, cutest, pout-iest eyes. "Oh, thank you for saving me today!" Boundo mimicked in a high falsetto. "Oooh, have you ever been caught? Oh!" Boundo giggled. "Look at me, I'm a cute little prince that woos everyone with my big helpless eyes!"

"Coo!" Dia-Dia nodded insistently. He hugged himself and puckered his lips, pretending to be kissing passionately with someone. "Ba_koo_-ra, Ba_koo_-ra!"

Scowling, Bakura kicked out his left foot at him, narrowly missing Dia-Dia's head. "Oh, shut up," he glared, as the Ka scurried around to make sure not to be in Bakura's kicking range. "It wasn't a big deal, I mean…he was helpless, what can I say?"

"Love!" Dia-Dia chirruped. He looked about Bakura accusingly. "Love."

Bakura scoffed. "I don't love him, you kidding me?"

Boundo slithered forward. "Ooh! So then, what was with the whole…" Here, he adapted his soft, high voice again. " 'Oh, thank you for saving me…'" He promptly switched to a deep, masculine voice. " 'OH, it was no trouble at all, HAHA, look at me, I'm the big bad King of Thieves, I never get CAUGHT. OH. LOOK. _My testosterone level just skyrocketed!_'"

Rolling his eyes, Bakura slumped against the wall. "Fine, fine, make fun of me, for Ra's sakes." He grumbled and turned to the side. "I don't know. I guess…" Bakura shrugged.

Sighing, Boundo slithered towards his master, dragging a huffy Dia-Dia after him. When he reached Bakura's legs, he slithered onto the master's lap, nuzzling and licking the bruises.

"He's not you sister," Boundo said quietly, but firmly. Bakura sighed and shrugged, a little harsher than it needed to be.

"I know," he muttered, as Dia-Dia bent forwards to reluctantly give Bakura a hug. Bakura smiled down at his Ka. "I don't know…I guess…he was really pretty…and …nice, I guess." Bakura grinned crookedly. "And you know, as dumb and as clumsy as he is, he's still really funny to watch."

Boundo shook his head and instructed Dia-Dia to fly. "He's not dumb," Boundo chided. "He probably just doesn't have any street smarts. He is a Prince, you know."

Bakura frowned and sighed, as he felt Dia-Dia clumsily fit the keys into the locks around Bakura's wrists. "I know…" Here, Bakura's face grew dark. "I didn't know that we had a Prince like that…I thought the only Prince was supposed to be Yugi, or something like that."

"Complicated political matters, I guess," Boundo said, watching Dia-Dia carefully twist each key. Boundo slowly turned to look at Bakura. "…I know it's hard," he admitted, watching Bakura carefully. "But…if you really think about it, I think it's time you moved on. We all miss everyone back home, but…"

Here, Dia-Dia finally clicked open Bakura's lock, and let out a squeal of triumph. Rolling his eyes, Boundo was lowered onto Bakura's shoulders, who was now rubbing his wrists, unable to look at Boundo.

"…I don't know, I guess being friends with the Prince isn't bad," Boundo soothed. "You know, I really think it's time you got a bit more of a social life…you've been holding onto your memories for a long time, Bakura. Ten years is a long time…"

Bakura sighed but said nothing. Boundo lowered his head.

"At any rate," Boundo sighed, "despite us getting into this stupid mess, I'm glad you met him. Maybe you guys can be friends." He rose his head and gently nuzzled Bakura's cheek, a rare show of affection for Boundo. "…Not that I'd care to admit it, but I was happy to see you so happy when you were with him."

Sighing, Bakura shrugged, and slowly rested his head on Boundo's head. Whining in puzzlement, Dia-Dia bent forwards for another hug, and latched onto Bakura's white hair. Bakura chuckled.

"Thanks," he smiled, gently scratching Boundo behind his fans. He smiled up at Dia-Dia too, who just realized Bakura's head was bleeding and was spazzing like crazy over it. "Thanks, Dia-Dia." He poked the small Ka on the nose. "Hey. You think I should be friends with him? You think it's time?"

Blinking, Dia-Dia slowly nodded. "Love!" he chirruped. "Love good!"

Bakura chuckled and carefully pulled his Ka from his shoulder into his arms. "Well, I don't know about love," Bakura sighed, gently tickling Dia-Dia. "But…I guess a little more companionship isn't so bad…" Sighing, Bakura closed his eyes, and leaned back against the wall. "I hate living in darkness sometimes…"

"Then perhaps you should slither your head out of it, little boy…"

Blinking, Bakura turned his head sharply at the voice. Instantly, Dia-Dia and Boundo rose high and wary, ready to protect their young master. As the moon shifted slightly from behind a cloud above their barred window, silver light slowly revealed the shadow of a dark figure sitting next to the door. The man was cloaked, his hood shadowing his eyes and his face. His tanned ankle could be seen underneath the folds of his dark cloak, where it was shackled to a wooden post.

Bakura narrowed his eyes and slowly braced himself, in case he needed to defend himself.

"Calm yourself, boy," the man chuckled darkly. "I'm merely an innocent eavesdropper and a quiet prison companion."

Again, Bakura said nothing, merely narrowing his eyes. He hated the idea of him revealing his emotions to his Ka in front of a complete stranger he did not know.

The stranger chuckled again and slowly stood, leaning against the wall in a way that seemed to suggest something was wrong with his ankle. If Bakura had been a nice person (which he did not consider himself to be), he would have helped the man with the shackle, but Bakura, being the careful street-rat that he was, knew better.

"And what do you mean by that?" Bakura asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I have no need for a companion." He raked his eyes over the man's form. "And since you are here," (Bakura's lips twitched into a very not-so-innocent smirk) "I doubt you were simply an 'innocent' eavesdropper."

The man chuckled again. "Ah, you have a sharp mind, lad," he said through slightly clenched teeth. "But you are a poor lad, I'm assuming? How old are you?"

Bakura snorted. "You don't need to know my age."

The stranger shook his head. "Oh, but I do," the stranger bent down to fiddle at his shackle. "You see, dear boy, I was once in a miserable situation like yourself. I once had my own mystical Ka to talk to, and I once was lost in a world of Darkness and Shadows such as yourself. Only the gifted kinds are blessed with the guidance of Kas, you know. Those who are strong enough to summon it themselves, and those who are precious enough to need them by will and hope alone."

The man slowly slid his hand over the shackle, and the shackle clacked open.

Bakura watched with a skeptical eye.

The man slowly straightened up again. "Surely you would want to escape this miserable dungeon?" the man suggested, slowly upturning his hands, in a gesture towards the empty, dank dungeon. "And, surely after your escape, you'd want to live fine and well, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you like to impress that beauty of a Prince up stairs in the palace?"

"No, not really," Bakura spat, but he seemed a little interested. "Keep talking, old man."

In the dim light, Bakura could see the stranger smirk a little. Stepping forward, the man (slightly taller than Bakura himself, as Bakura was obviously a gangly fifteen-year-old and the man in his early twenties) bent a little, almost curling into himself at the excitement and desire of it all.

"I know a place," the man whispered, "where a single word can grant all your wishes. A world where your hopes are granted without a whisper, and where your dreams come alive by will alone. This world is mounted of stolen gold over the many centuries, many of them blessed with ancient magic." The man lowered himself again, so that he could face Bakura straight on. "Any wish, young man," the man whispered. "Any wish at all. Be it life, love, or death…"

At this, Bakura's eyes widened a fraction.

_Death…_

He upturned his lip and looked away. "Uh huh," he snorted. "Really old man, I have no time for stupid little games. Do you honestly expect me to believe you? I'm not as innocent as the Prince, you know."

The man nodded. "I understand," the stranger admitted. "But you are one that has been exposed to magic..you know it exists. Why not take the risk?"

Bakura laughed. "Ha! Yeah. And follow you into some underground slave-trade? No thanks."

Slowly, the man bowed, and slid out a dagger, offering it to Bakura handle-first.

"I was once a street-rat myself," the man smirked. "I understand what it's like to risk everything for a loaf of bread, for a sip of water…for a family to return to me."

Slowly, Bakura stiffened, and his smirk fell away from his lips. The stranger continued.

"Take the knife," the stranger insisted. "If I truly lead you somewhere where you do not wish to be, you can take one swift aim at my heart, and you can run. You've never been caught before, have you?"

At this, Bakura slowly turned around, and eyed the man carefully. His red-brown eyes drifted from the dagger to the man again, noting the dark shadows against the man's face. Bakura looked at the knife again.

…_For a family to return to me…_

Hesitantly, Bakura reached out a hand towards the knife. He paused and looked at Diabound, who had said nothing until this point.

"Well?" Bakura asked. "Shall we take it?"

Narrowing his eyes at the man, Boundo flickered out his tongue to get a taste of the man's aura. Boundo hissed.

"…Whatever you wish."

Sighing, Bakura rolled his eyes and eyed the dagger again. Before he took it, he looked the man straight in his dark, amethyst eyes.

"…Show me your face."

There was a pause, before the man bowed and shook his head. "That cannot be done, little one," the stranger apologized. "I'm horribly mis-figured. Years of torture and beatings have taken its toll on me." He offered the dagger again. "Trust me, young one, you do not want to see what I have under here."

Bakura snorted. "I don't believe you."

The man smirked and slowly pulled back his sleeve from the arm with the dagger. A terribly wicked scar gnarled up his arm, twisted and white against his dark, tanned skin. They seemed to curve off and branch as though imitations of veins, and in the light, Bakura could see scorch marks.

"..Ouch."

The man sighed and covered his wound. "I'm sorry, little one, but I cannot show you my face." He held out the dagger again. "Once more, will you come with me? I need a healthy, small boy to help me enter the world of wonders…this tortured, beaten prisoner can barely walk much less climb tombs such as yourself."

Eying the man suspiciously when he mentioned Bakura's skills, Bakura reluctantly took the knife. He raised it to his eyes, as though carefully making sure that it was not a fake, and slid it into his loose belt.

"Alright then," Bakura stood straight. "Lead me to this world of wonders."


	6. The Lamp

Chapter Six: The Lamp

Slowly, they made their way through the night. There was a sandstorm that night, throwing the mounds of shredded silver in their eyes. The moon high above was clouded by the darkness of the skies and the whirlwinds of the sand. The mounds themselves appeared to be nearly blue in color, shining with the faintest traces of soft silver in the moonlight as the sands were tossed back and forth like mounds of salt.

Because of the prisoner's "mutilation", Bakura mostly had to walk on foot while the prisoner sat on a horse they managed to find tethered innocently outside the dungeon walls. While Bakura largely resented this idea of him being a subordinate under the stranger, he couldn't complain with the idea that there could be something waiting for him at the end of his journey that could resurrect his family.

They trudged through the sands for what seemed to be like many miles, over little hills and shifting sand. Bakura's eyes were red from the constant scratching of the flying flicks of sand; he hadn't a scarf like the prisoner and his cloak. While Bakura was cursing in his head (and shielding Diabound in his bag), he resiliently made his way through the sand, dragging the prisoner on the horse behind him.

After a long while of what seemed to be like eternity, the prisoner finally called over the howling winds, leaning over the head of the horse: "We're here! Stop!"

Panting, Bakura instantly let go of the horse's rein, collapsing onto his knees and cursing like crazy under his breath. In his bag, Diabound poked his head up unsurely, hiding behind his hands while Boundo slithered his scaly snake head out of the bag's opening cautiously.

The prisoner stumbled off the horse, leaning against the wall for aid. He slid a hand into his cloak pocket and held something for a while in his hands, humming and chanting incoherently. Bakura was about to question the man's sanity dryly when the stranger then threw the object (a golden scarab, it seemed to be) into the sand.

The scarab beetle flew instantly away, startling Bakura slightly. But within an instance, it had disappeared, and suddenly, the sands began to rumble, and the ground began to shift.

Before Bakura could fully comprehend what was going on, magic shot up from under the sands and formed a great monument of a head. The great head of Obelisk the Tormentor rose from the sands, looming, deafening, intimidating.

Its mouth lowered slowly, revealing a deep glow of yellow from within. Bakura's eyes widened at the thought of all the gold within that could make the light shine so; more than any gold and jewelry and jewels than he had ever seen before in any pharaoh's tomb…

"A god," Boundo whispered, in an awed hiss. Bakura shook himself sharply and glared at his pet.

"It's no god," Bakura snarled. He looked back at Obelisk with strong confidence and a hint of hatred. "It's just a representation."

At Bakura's voice, the great Obelisk's eyes shifted from its glare in the sky to narrow at Bakura. They shifted, glowing white, and fell upon the little thief, who stared up just as defiantly.

"The boy…" 

Bakura upturned his chin, glaring at the Obelisk coolly.

The great monster was quiet for a moment, as though contemplating something. After a few seconds, its great mouth began to move once more.

"_WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER?"_

Its mouth dropped to the floor, waiting patiently. Bakura turned to look at the prisoner, but the prisoner shifted his hand towards the great sand beast.

"Go, boy," the prisoner shook his hand once more at the mouth of the cave. "This tired prisoner can't make through the cave alive…" He met Bakura's gaze evenly. "Now remember…bring me the lamp. That's all I ask. In return, I shall give you your reward..."

Glaring suspiciously, Bakura crosses his arms. "And what if you cheat me of my reward?"

"You will not be cheated," the prisoner assured. "Once the lamp is in my possession, the magic of the Shadows will be harnessed…and all our wishes will be granted instantly." The prisoner looked away. "I too, am taking a gamble…a gamble for this foolish wish. If I cheat you of your reward, then we both have nothing. And after all…"

The prisoner turned back to gaze at Bakura. "Don't thieves always take risks?"

To the man's response, Bakura merely snorted, and slowly picked up his bag, carrying Diabound within. As he approached the monument, the eyes of Obelisk narrowed again.

Bakura crossed his arms. "It's me, Bakura!" He was this close to also saying, "And what are you going to do about it, jerk?" when the beast growled lowly.

"_Hm….." _Those great eyes narrowed. _"….Proceed, young one. BUT touch NOTHING BUT THE LAMP.""_

His great mouth opened with a flurry of wind and magic that nearly blew Bakura away. As Bakura held his arms up against the torrent of wind, he could faintly hear the prisoner calling after him.

"Go, boy!! Fetch me the lamp!"

Growling, Bakura glared the prisoner, before staring down at the golden steps of Obelisk's mouth. Sighing, he hoisted his bag up higher, petting a scared and shivering Dia-Dia.

"It's okay Diabound." Bakura looked up and began to worm his way towards Obelisk's mouth. "Let's go."

* * *

They traveled for a long while, as the steps took a long time to descend. When they finally reached the bottom, a door stood before them. A tattered curtain was draped in its doorframe, a dirty smudged Eye of Ra sewn across it.

Carefully, Bakura reached out, stroking the tapestry for any notes or symbols that could indicate a trap. However, all Bakura could find was a line of hieroglyphics in the corner. They were dusty and ancient, but Bakura squatted down to see them, regardless. Better safe than sorry.

_Within this world while Ra sleeps_

_A sacrifice be made of light for dark_

_Its only masters are those it owes_

_Of power, majesty, and happiness alone._

Bakura paused, his fingers slowly drifting away from the tapestry. From the bag, both Dia-Dia and Boundo had peeked from the bag's opening, and had read the hieroglyphics as well.

No one said a word, and Bakura hitched up the bag again. Without looking a second glance at the hieroglyphics, he pushed his way through the tapestry.

When the tapestry had fallen behind them, they were greeted with an awing sight. A large room, piled with great mounds of gold and coins. Immediately Bakura's eyes widened and glittered, and his scowl turned into an excited but awed grin. The walls were made with gold, and were patterned with royal hieroglyphics and ancient designs; there were stick people holding wine, stick slaves kneeling on the ground, and stick pharaohs with their animal heads all patterned on the walls. Great jewels of rubies lay scattered about; open treasure troves were spilled on top of the heaps. Great rolls of silk and finely embroidered tapestries were strewn about. Even in all of his years of stealing tombs, Bakura had never seen a sight of riches so great.

Meanwhile, Dia-Dia had risen from his bag and was goggling at all the gold and treasures with wide eyes. His mouth nearly drooling from gaping for so long, Dia-Dia suddenly let a squeal and shot out from the bag, his arms aiming for a big red jewel on the floor.

"DIABOUND!"

The call of his name sharply stopped Diabound from grabbing the stone, and he stared slowly back at his master weakly. Under him, Boundo was not pleased, slithering and biting the poor chibi-Ka here and there.

Bakura gave the Ka a stern glare as he stepped through the treasures with great confidence and self control. "Don't touch. ANYTHING. You got it?" Sadly, Dia-Dia nodded, and Bakura beckoned the Ka to his shoulders. When Dia-Dia had flown up and seated himself next to Bakura's head, Bakura patted the young Ka and looked about for an opening.

"We got to watch out for traps, got it?" Though initially the image of great riches was beautiful to Bakura, suddenly he was very suspicious of it. Everything seemed…too rich. Too beautiful. Almost misleading. Diabound nodded and whimpered, nuzzling Bakura and hiding behind Bakura's hair.

Slowly they made their way through the little road between the mounds of treasures. As Bakura kept his eye out for more traps, he didn't quite realize that the rug he had just walked over began to move and twitch.

"Gotta watch out for traps," Bakura was muttering, as he was eyeing the walls and hieroglyphics for hints. "…Traps…"

Behind him, Dia-Dia perked his head. His eyes widened.

The rug just moved!!!!

It was a black rug, laced with red and streaks of gold. At first it seemed to get up tiredly, its golden tassels scratching its …head? But then it suddenly realized that someone was there, and stood still…Dia-Dia whimpered. The rug looked like it was staring straight at _him!_

Instantly, Dia-Dia began to yank frantically at Bakura's shirt like crazy. Disturbed, Bakura turned to glare at Dia-Dia.

"What? What?"

In his panic, Dia-Dia couldn't say anything other than little frantic noises and pointing insistently at the rug. Scowling, Bakura turned around and was met with –

-nothing.

Bakura raised one eyebrow and looked at Dia-Dia, whose mouth was gaping open. Scowling, Bakura turned back to Dia-Dia.

"We really don't have time for jokes, Dia-Dia," Bakura growled. He turned back to the mounds of jewels, looking for a way out. Protesting, Dia-Dia made a few choking noises in disbelief. The carpet..it had been real!

Whimpering mournfully, Dia-Dia slowly sat back down on Bakura's shoulder. Curious, Boundo came up to investigate.

"You saw a ghost or something, Dia-Dia?" the snake joked.

Dia-Dia scowled (remarkably like Bakura) and waved his hands in a square. "Unh…rug."

Boundo skeptically raised a scaled eyebrow. "Rug? Tassels? Doormat?"

Dia-Dia gave a frustrated moan. He waved his hands some more, continuing with his charade.

"Fly."

"Flies? Magick? Wings?" Boundo got tired of guessing. "Dia-Dia, come now, let's not pretend that we've been seeing…-"

Suddenly, over Dia-Dia's shoulder, came a carpet peeking over. It waved a tassel hesitantly.

"….HOLY RA A MAGIC CARPET!!"

Chaos erupted before Bakura had even a chance to register what the hell had just happened. Dia-Dia shrieked in girlish fright and darted into his hair; Boundo had smacked his head into Bakura's as a result, Bakura's head had been knocked forward, his arms flailing.

"Hey! What the hell-!?"

Suddenly, a soft material braced his fall. Muffling, Bakura shook his head. What the hell…?

He looked down. An intricate carpet of black, red and gold looked back up at him. Embroidered around its borders were designs of the dragon god, Osiris. An embroidered image of the legendary Millennium Puzzle was sewn in the front. Bakura arched an eyebrow.

"…Whoa."

The carpet seemed to chuckle quietly. It waved a tassel at Bakura.

Bakura made a face that radiated 'WEIRDED OUT.' He carefully slid a hand down the carpet to touch the Puzzle. The carpet bristled angrily, and smacked Bakura in the head with its tassel.

"OW! What the hell do you have in there, a lead curtain? Get here---"

Grumbling, Bakura grabbed a handful of the carpet, holding it tightly. The carpet flinched and swiveled, smacking Bakura's hands with both its tassels. Bakura winced and waved the thing.

"Hey hey hey, come on, we're not going to hurt you." Bakura rolled his eyes. "Geez. With the way you're acting, it's like I've molested you or something."

The carpet stopped, and crossed its tassels like one would cross its arms. It glared at Bakura pointedly.

Bakura's eyes bugged into an extreme expression of 'WEIRDED OUT.' "What?! I did not!" He whacked the carpet in the back. "Geez. I'm not that much of a pervert."

From his head, Boundo slithered out, groaning. "That's…partially debatable."

Bakura scowled at his pet. "Who asked you?" Rolling his eyes, Bakura looked back at the carpet. "Hey look; we're not going to hurt you. We just need to find something." Bakura looked around him. "If you help us, we'll leave you alone. Deal?"

The carpet titled its 'head' (as the material had formed in such a way to create a hill) thoughtfully. It turned back to look at Bakura straight on, like as if it was skeptical.

"What? You want something in return?"

The carpet shrugged. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Look. We're looking for a lamp. Do you think you can help?" Bakura glared at the Puzzle. "…Well?"

The carpet seemed to notice Bakura's heated glaring at the Puzzle. As though suddenly hit with realization, the carpet gently laid a tassel on Bakura's shoulder. Seriously, it nodded its head at Bakura, and pointed to door with its other tassel.

"I think he knows the way," Boundo hissed quietly. Bakura smirked.

"Would you mind, Carpet?"

As though rolling its eyes, the carpet threw its hands in the air exasperatedly, and swiftly flew under Bakura. Bakura laughed.

"Hey, Dia-Dia! Why can't you fly yet?"

Here, Dia-Dia scowled, and promptly flew away from Bakura, batting its wings smugly. Bakura laughed and grabbed his pet, tickling him.

"Aw, you know I kid. Come on, let's get to that lamp."

* * *

They continued to fly further and further down the ancient tombs; Bakura watched in curiosity and awe as more and more jewels flew by. Eventually when they entered the deep recess of the cave, when the jewels died off and eventually the walls turned into cold, gray slabs. The only light came from candles that were weakly flickering on the walls. Bakura narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

He was debating if they could trust the carpet. After all, it was a Shadow-thing…could they be sure that they could trust it?

Tensing, Bakura gripped the carpet. His eyes flittered towards the Puzzle and fingered it. _The Puzzle…_it was the symbol of the Pharaoh, but at the same time, it was upside down, symbolizing darkness…could it really be trusted?

The carpet seemed to feel Bakura's unease. It flew more carefully, in attempts to curb Bakura suspicions.

Bakura snorted and scowled at the Puzzle. He hated anything that remotely related to the Pharaoh – after all, where was the mighty God on Earth when his family died? When his village was slaughtered? Bakura bristled. There was nothing he'd like on earth than to avenge his family and their deaths…even if that meant _killing _the pharaoh…

Bakura smirked. At least it was satisfying to know that they were defiling a great tomb of some great Pharaoh with the head of some great God …with one of his own magical servants. Feeling quite happy with this idea, Bakura sat back on the carpet, deciding just to watch out for traps rather than waste his time on worrying over his pride.

When they had finally reached the dreariest, darkest part of the underground bellows, the carpet began to slow down considerably. There was almost a melancholy air about the darkness; like the whole world was silent and still as death. Bakura tensed immediately. It felt like Kuru Eruna after ten miserable years…

Slowly, the carpet descended. It descended slowly and sadly, almost as if in quiet mourning. Bakura quickly left the carpet. Dia-Dia nervously peeked out from behind Bakura's shoulder. Bakura looked around.

The whole room was the largest yet; humongous, dark, and cavernous. A mountain of stone steps was placed in the middle of a large pond; there were some cold stepping-stones leading across the moat to the pyramid. Up the pyramid of stones shone a light; Bakura squinted. High above, he could spy a lonely lamp on the top of the pyramid.

Bakura pointed to the miserable lamp.

"That's it?"

The carpet nodded solemnly. Bakura arched an eyebrow, and slowly put Diabound on the ground.

"You guys stay here," Bakura looked back. "Just in case if something goes wrong. If a stone falls on us while we're up there, we're both going down."

Dia-Dia whined. Bakura smirked and ruffled Dia-Dia's head.

"It's for our own good, Dia-Dia. It's called strategizing."

Again, Dia-Dia whined, louder than before. The carpet shook in chuckles and slowly slid over to Dia-Dia. It petted the sniffing Dia-Dia in the head.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "For Ra's sake, I'm not dying!" He turned back to the lamp. "Okay. Stay here and don't touch anything. I'm going to get that lamp."

* * *

Diabound and the carpet watched as the young-white-haired thief slowly made his way up the pyramid of stones. Moaning, Dia-Dia squirmed bored-ly. The carpet, meanwhile, was too busy sitting intently and watching Bakura seriously, should Bakura fall. Grumbling, Dia-Dia turned around –

and saw a gleaming ruby being offered by a statue of Set.

* * *

Grunting, Bakura slowly made his way up the mountain. So far so good – no traps, no tricks, no rhymes – nothing.

Five more steps to go.

Grunting, Bakura threw himself up over the fifth step. A stone cylinder stood; the lamp was on it.

* * *

Downstairs, Dia-Dia was slowly reaching towards the ruby, blinking at its beauty.

"Purrty…"

* * *

Carefully, Bakura reached out towards the lamp. It was old, it was battered. Bakura was worried it would break should he touch it.

* * *

The carpet lazily raised its head to check on Diabound; and then that's when he realized – Dia-Dia was slowly dragging himself towards the red ruby. Boundo had been too intently gazing on Bakura protectively to notice he was being slided away.

Suddenly, Boundo realized. He shot around and saw what Dia-Dia was doing.

"Dia-Dia!!! NO!!"

* * *

His hands reached out. He grabbed the lamp.

Nothing happened.

Bakura let out a sigh of relief. "That was it? All this work for this –"

Bakura turned around. He saw Dia-Dia beating his wings towards the Set statue holding a gleaming ruby. Boundo had sank his fangs into the floor, but it wasn't working. Dia-Dia leaped at the ruby.

"DIABOUND! NO!!!!!"

But it was too late. Dia-Dia had grabbed the ruby. And in turn, a deep voice rumbled through the cave.

"_FOOLS. HOW DARE YOU TOUCH THE SACRED JEWELS OF THE SHADOW OF WONDERS?"_

Bakura cursed under his breath. He decided to run for it while he could.

"_NOW YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY …"_

The stones began to melt. Bakura jumped down the steps four-by-four, then five-by-five. The stones were sliding into mud.

"…_EVER AGAIN!!"_

Bakura made a leap for it. "DIABOUND!"

Fire began to boil beneath the stones; walls began to crack and collapse. The pyramid had crumbled, the walls raged with coals and fire. Bakura shut his eyes and concentrated his powers – any powers to fuel his Ka to his aid.

Surged by the power to protect his master, Diabound instantly evolved. Roaring, Diabound grew from his foot-long height to a version as big as Bakura himself. He spread his wings and shot towards Bakura; his wings beating rapidly. Boundo hissed as his cobra half lengthened, his fangs growing. He could feel magic gaining in his scales.

Just when Bakura was about to hit the lava that the floor had now turned, Diabound had flew under him. Bouncing, Bakura grabbed Diabound's chest and clung on tight. A grunt came from Diabound's mouth. The roof was collapsing, it was hard to maneuver with Bakura on his back. They were going to hit –

But the Carpet had intervened, and wrapped itself around Diabound making the Ka swirl. When Diabound had relaxed, the carpet slithered underneath, and Diabound was able to put Bakura onto the carpet. Understanding, Diabound obediently held the carpet by its shoulders, and with the carpet, flew rapidly. Perhaps with their combined power, they could be faster; and with Diabound acting as a roof, Bakura would be safer.

The carpet surged forward. Diabound understood and fell back a little, allowing the carpet to maneuver for them. Together, they dodged boulders cracking and fire roaring and lava spitting up in mini volcanoes. Boundo maneuvered himself so that he could twist around and see above Diabound, and served as being helpful whenever he could shoot a _helical shockwave_ attack at any boulders that were this close to crushing them.

They flew through all the rooms, dodging the collapsing pillars and the melting gold. Bakura gritted his teeth but did not close his eyes in the face of danger. Well; at least this was one tomb whose trap he had yet to overcome…

Bakura smirked suddenly and grabbed onto the carpet tightly. _Magic!_ He realized. _This was his first escape from a magic tomb! _

They shot through the golden room, closely followed by a wave of melted gold and lava. Bakura could feel stings as Diabound had to shield him from smoldering embers that were flying through the air. Bakura clutched his hands and for the first time, worried about the safety of his Ka and only friend.

They were getting close to the opening of Obelisk's mouth. The steps had long shattered, and only the top few remained. Bakura reached out with his hand towards the crumbling steps ---

A boulder cracked from the roof and fell just above them. It hit Diabound and the carpet straight in the back and forced Bakura through the air, smacking right into the five steps.

Temporarily knocked out, Bakura rolled down the steps, but had gained consciousness just barely enough to grab onto the last step. Above him, he could see the looming shadow if the prisoner, his cloak flapping ominously in the wind.

"_The lamp,_" the prisoner spoke, his voice low, deep, far away. A tanned hand reached out from the folds of his sleeves. "_Give me the lamp._"

Snarling, Bakura grunted to get up onto the steps. A block of stone fell away from his grip.

"Shut the fuck up and help me, you jerk!!"

The prisoner's amethyst eyes shone menacingly. The tanned hand shot out and grabbed Bakura by the arm, dragging the thief up with immense strength that could have survived the tomb if tried.

His knees scrapped against the stone bloodily; Bakura gritted his teeth. The man's eyes widened once more; shining an insane glimmer of amethyst.

"_The lamp, street rat."_

Below them, the Carpet was struggling to get out from beneath the boulder. Diabound gasped in pain. Boundo swiveled his head and opened his mouth wide at the boulder.

"_HELICAL SHOCKWAVE!"_

The boulder burst in combustion, freeing the Ka and the Carpet. The Carpet, temporarily weak, urged the Ka to fly before Bakura's peril. Diabound took no hesitance and shot up once more.

Suddenly realizing that the prisoner had never wanted Bakura's best intentions, Bakura began to fight against the man. The prisoner, however, proved much stronger than a skinny, scrawny, fifteen-year-old boy, and managed to wring the lamp away from Bakura's bag. Bakura swore.

"GIVE THAT BACK YOU FUCKING SON OF A CAMEL'S ASS!"

The prisoner snarled and threw Bakura away from him. As a last ditch attempt, Bakura threw out his arm – connection!

The prisoner's head snapped back, briefly revealing a mane of spiky golden hair. A shadow of some sort of bird came sweeping out of nowhere, catching Bakura in the right eye. Yelling in pain, Bakura knocked his head back; he lost balance; the claws missed his eye directly and clawed at his skin in quick, fast wipes; his fingers closed upon the handle of the cold, cool gold of the lamp –

The steps crumbled beneath his feet. The sand of the teeth of Obelisk began to melt and drip like sharp, deadly stalactites. Blinded by blood in his right eye, Bakura grabbed his cheek by his hand; he tumbled back and began to fall –

Just in time, Diabound flew up, and caught Bakura as he fell. The weight of it crashed the wind out of both of them, erasing the last chance of Diabound flying through Obelisk's mouth to safety. Temporarily knocked out, Bakura fainted against the arms of his childhood friend and protector. Exhausted, Diabound began to devolve from his protective form, collapsing against the carpet, who had braced their fall.

Slowly, as the might mound of Obelisk began to melt; the carpet drifted the three of them to the floor, exhausted and drained. Diabound shrank, Bakura fell into unconsciousness, and finally, the world was shrouded in darkness. Above, Obelisk melted into the sand, becoming no more as its final, painful roar lit the sky of the Egyptian night, closing the few gateways to the Shadow of Wonders.

The world was then quiet, broken sharply only by the curses of Marik. The lamp had been so close, so close to his possession –

-but now it was gone.

* * *

A/N HOMG THAT TOOK A WHILE.

But I really like the escape part.

And I really like the next chapter…cause finally, we get to see the GENIE!

Take your guesses, ppl! Who's the genie!? Read and review to find out!!!


	7. The Genie Friend Like Me

Chapter Seven: The Genie of the Lamp

When Bakura came to, everything was dark. Groaning, he slowly sat up, feeling his right cheek throb with biting barbs of pain. Immediately he raised a hand to his cheek to feel the damage; through the blood, he could feel one heavy slash down his eye to his cheek, and two slashes criss-crossing horizontally. Bakura winced as he tried to open his right eye without flinching.

Meanwhile, Dia-Dia was slowly waking up. Boundo was still out cold, sprawled on the ground. Concerned for his Ka, Bakura immediately left his bloody wound to turn around and attend to the small Ka; Diabound was utterly exhausted by the evolution.

Carefully, Bakura picked up the little Ka, and cradled the tired Diabound to his chest. Dia-Dia murmured softly, like a child in need of its mother, and grew limp in Bakura's arms.

As far as Bakura could tell, his Ka was unharmed. When he could focus more, he slowly raised his head cautiously to look around him; nothing. Zip. Darkness surrounded him. The only light came from the 'roof', where the moonlight shone bleakly through scattered holes of the sand. Bakura swore under his breath when he realized that they were trapped.

At this point, Boundo slowly woke up. Dazed, he slowly raised his head, his eyes lolling around tiredly as he tried to focus. "Bakura…?"

Bakura gently cradled Boundo's head in his hand. "Yeah, I'm here. I'm okay."

The snake slithered his tongue out half-heartedly. "You better be…" Boundo slowly opened one eye fully to gaze at Bakura. The pupil narrowed in awareness. "Your eye!"

Bakura winced. "Oh yeah. That." He subconsciously put a hand to his cheek. "I think I can see fine…but..." He winced again when he drew his hand away, noting the blood that was now wetting his fingers. He licked them. "…I think I'm okay," Bakura said.

Boundo slithered up and warily inspected the wound. "How many fingers am I holding?"

Bakura gave his Ka a dead-panned look. "You're. A. Snake. You don't have fingers."

"Mphf!" Bakura looked down to see Dia-Dia holding all of his fingers up. Bakura began to roll his eyes, but stopped halfway when his right eye throbbed.

"Ow ow, okay……ten?" Bakura guessed. "Eight if you're going to be technical. Eight plus two thumbs."

The carpet slithered into Bakura's view. It held up two tassels. Bakura's expression dead-panned even more.

"Okay, YOU don't even HAVE fingers."

The carpet looked at its tassels, and seemingly surprised that it didn't have hands, shrugged in an "oh well" manner, and looked back at Bakura. Bakura grumbled as Dia-Dia went up to fix his wound.

"So what does it look like? Do I have a mutilation now?"

Boundo tsked in a motherly sort of way. "No…but you are going to have a scar now."

Bakura sighed. "Is it a cool-looking scar?" he asked. "You know, like all the evil cool bandits have?"

Boundo rolled his eyes. "We'll see," he said sternly. He gently licked the blood away. "If only we had something to wipe …" He turned around. "Carpet?"

Nodding, Carpet slithered forward and began to gently clean Bakura's wound with a tassel. Bakura was surprised at its softness.

"You're still here?" Bakura muttered. "Didn't you melt with this stuff too?"

The carpet shook his head. Bakura frowned.

"So what the heck are you? Do you even have a name, other than carpet?"

The carpet's shoulders seemed to sag sadly, and Bakura rolled his eyes. Okay, never ask the carpet his name again. Wait a minute, why was he talking to a carpet anyways?

"You feeling better now?" Boundo asked. Bakura nodded, and felt his cheek. All the blood had been wiped away.

"Yeah." He ripped a shred of cloth from his bag and a long strip from his sarong. "Screw public decency," he muttered, and tied the patch onto the strip, and then tying the strip around his head so it covered his eye. A little bit of blood soaked the patch. "There."

Boundo smirked. "Very innovative. Now you look like a pirate nabbing corn off the Nile."

"With a too-high-skirt!" Dia-Dia chirped. Bakura scowled.

"Oh shut up."

Sighing, Bakura looked up towards the roof. He sat back. From his lap, Dia-Dia dragged the lamp from Bakura's bag to his lap. Bakura looked down.

"Oh. If it isn't the golden piece of junk," Bakura said sarcastically, picking the lamp up. "Like as if this is going to help us get out of here."

"What does it say?" Boundo asked, noting an inscription at the bottom and totally ignoring Bakura. Bakura arched an eyebrow and squinted.

"I'm not sure…" He rubbed the inscription a little with his thumb. "…It's hard to see…"

Suddenly, the lamp began to shake. The gold surface began to glow red. Bakura felt the lamp grow hot as it began to quiver and rattle more and more in his grasp.

Abruptly, the lamp shot out a plume of purple cloud from its sprout; Bakura threw the lamp away for him in case of combustion – (Diabound took cover behind Bakura) and closed his eyes…but then there was a scream.

"WH……OOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA BOY!!!"

Bakura opened his eyes. A boy, about his age, stood in the smoke of purple, arching his back and ruffling his hand through his hair. He turned in a sultry way over his shoulder, his golden locks spilling across his unblemished, tanned skin…lavender eyes shone through the lavender-scented smoke…

A bright grin lit up the boy's face, and the smoke was swept way with one dramatic hand. It revealed the boy wearing Arabic baggy lavender pants, gold chokers and armbands and anklets, and a beautifully embroidered vest.

"Ten thouuuusand years…." He magically produced a mirror out of nowhere. "…Can really do your facial mask some good!"

For the third time that day, Bakura's face merged to radiate WEIRDED OUT once more. He was slowly looking at the boy, then back at Diabound, who was also watching the boy with wide, almost frightened eyes. The boy ignored them, but caught sight of the carpet.

"_Yami!_"

The carpet perked up and swept up immediately to the boy. The boy laughed in a happy way, yet whapped the carpet on the back sardonically. "How's the old boy, huh?"

Yami the Carpet shrugged his shoulders, before stretching regally straight and looking at the boy haughtily. The boy scoffed.

"Oh don't give me that cold look," the boy scolded lightly. "I kept you company when you first entered the Shadow of Wonders and didn't even know your name. Is that a way to treat a friend and loyal servant?"

The Carpet's shoulders sagged, and it shook its head briefly. Then it gave the boy a hug. The boy laughed and pushed the carpet away.

"Stop it, Yami…you're embarrassing me in front of the customers."

The carpet rolled its head in such a way that it was rolling it eyes, and flew away to watch. The boy coughed a little, before turning to Bakura.

"My my _my…_" He strode to Bakura, who was still sitting on his bum, gawking. The blond smirked and walked around Bakura in a circle as though inspecting him. "You're sure a lot smaller than my last master." The blond stopped and looked thoughtful. "Either that or I'm getting bigger! Yami, Yami, tell me, do I look fatter to the side or to the front?"

Bakura shook his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming anything. Nope. The Blond-Tanned-Boy was still standing in front of him, posing his six-pack-tonned-abs from one side to the other, while constantly fretting that he was 'fat'.

"I could have _sworn_ I was only a hundred ten last time I checked…"

Bakura made a face. "Er…Excuse me –"

The boy turned his pretty lavender eyes to Bakura. Bakura twitched self-consciously.

"…_What_…are you…exactly?"

The boy looked surprised. "You mean you don't know who I am?" the boy exclaimed. "Or WHAT I am?"

Bakura scowled. "No, not particularly-" _Other than a perhaps very strange blond._

The boy scoffed and looked aghast at himself.

"_I_…" The boy bowed low, sweeping his arms out. "Am Malik. Your servant, your genie, for all eternity for unless you wish my leave. Or until you use up all three of your wishes."

Bakura gawked. "All three of my _wishes?_"

Malik smirked. "That's right." He held up three fingers. "Unos dos tres. Ichi ni san. Nosubstitutions,exchages,orrefunds." He said this last part very quickly.

Bakura raised an eyebrow and slowly sat back down. He was silent for a moment.

Malik paused and looked over at his new master curiously. Bakura turned to him. "Well?"

Malik looked confused. "Well what?"

"A song!" Bakura commanded. "You know? One of those songs that's supposed to make the unbeliever believe? Cause I don't believe for one second that you're a genie."

Malik pouted. "Of course I'm a genie!'

"Then sing a song about it!" Bakura said. "Cause isn't that what you're supposed to do when someone does not believe?"

Looking thoughtful, Malik took a moment. Suddenly, he burst into song.

"_I'm so pretty! I'M SO PRETTY AND WITTY AND GAYYYYYY…"_

"OKAY OKAY!" Bakura immediately put up his hands. "Okay okay! Stop! So singing genie! Okay!" Scowling, Bakura sat back down, slumping his head in one hand. "…Some genie."

Seeing Bakura's disappointment, Malik stopped singing and slowly sat next to Bakura. He put a hand on Bakura's shoulder – Bakura bristled slightly; he didn't like being touched by strangers.

"Aw, honey," Malik snickered. He fingered the eyepatch. "My my, what are you, a thief of some sorts, hun?"

Bakura frowned and tore away from Malik's touch. "Yeah. I'm a thief."

"A thief king!" Dia-Dia chirped. He was still hiding behind Bakura. "Thief King Bakura!"

At Dia-Dia's voice, Malik looked down and laughed when he saw the Ka. "My my, a thief king, hm…?" Malik's eyes twinkled. "Well…how could I say no to a king?"

Bakura paused. "…What do you mean…?"

Standing, Malik flashed him a grin. "You an unbeliever, master?"

Bakura nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"Don't believe in gods, magic, or genies?"

"Nope. Hate the gods."

Malik laughed. "Well then…"

Suddenly, fireworks exploded from both sides of the room. Light illuminated the dark cave, and spotlights shone upon Malik, whose pants were now glittering with sequins.

"MASTER!" The boy started to grow. "I don't think you've quite realize what you've got here. So why don't you just ruminate…" Here, he waved his hands, and Bakura slowly drifted away and was sitting comfortably on the air- Malik started glowing slyly.

"-While I illuminate…the _possibilities_!"

A top hat of lavender silk appeared on Malik's head, he was now holding a gold cane.

_"Well the Pharaoh had them Sennen Items  
Dartz and the Orichalcos tales..."_

A tap-dance ensued; Malik ended up swishing behind Bakura.

_"But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves  
you got Shadow magic that never fails!"_

Spreading his hands, Yu-Gi-Oh cards shot out of his cuffs like a Las Vegas dealer.

_"You got some **power** in your field now  
Some heavy **trap cards** in your camp!"_

And he disappeared!

…only to reappear behind Bakura in a cloud of purple, twinkling with magic. His hands grabbed Bakura's, the lamp reappeared in Bakura's hands.

_"You got some punch, pizzazz, yahoo and how  
See all you gotta do is rub that lamp  
And I'll say-"_

The genie disappeared, only to slither out of the lamp in a mystical cloud of smoke. When he reappeared, his chest was full, he appeared more majestic than before. His voice deepened:

_"Mister Bakura, sir  
What will your pleasure be?"_

A table appeared in front of Bakura.

_"Let me take your order  
Jot it down  
You ain't never had a friend like me  
No no no!"_

As Malik left the table, he left behind a plate of red meat. Bakura's eyes widened and salivated at the sight. Suddenly, it morphed into a big green pot. Cards shot out and splayed around Bakura.

_"Life is your deck of cards  
And I'm your Pot of Greed!"_

Again, Malik appeared, this time behind Bakura, and fingered his ear.

_"C'mon whisper what it is you want  
You ain't never had a friend like me!"_

Under Bakura, a cushy golden throne scooped him up. Gold piled in mountains about him, grails tumbled at his feet, and many servants came dancing in, tending to him. Some gave him wine, others offered fruits, some checked his wounds and others massaged his feet.

The WEIRDED OUT look was slowly becoming an eager curiosity!

_"Yes sir, we pride ourselves on service  
You're the shah,_

_The king, Ou-sama!  
Say what you wish  
It's yours! True dish!"_

He appeared again, this time his face right next to Bakura's.

_"How about it, Thief King Bakura?"_

Once more he disappeared, and Bakura found himself on top of a pile of gold and cards and food. The servants disappeared, but food appeared before him, bigger than himself!

_"I'm better than you can believe  
Or La-Jin the Genie  
I'm in the mood to help you dude-"_

The room darkened, and a single spotlight shone down.

_"You ain't never had a friend like me!"_

Below him, the genie was in his tuxedo, purple and lavender and white, tap-dancing.

_"Wa wa wah--- Nooo my."_

_"Wa wa wah…NO NO!"_

_"Wa wa wah...yeah yeah...!"_

"Can your friends do this?"

Malik then began to juggle Pot of Greed, Kuriboh, and Sangan.

_"Do your friends do that?"_

He tossed them to Bakura. Bakura juggled Pot of Greed, Kuriboh, and Sangan smugly too.

_"Do your friends pull this-"_

From within Malik's hat, he pulled out Baby Dragon.

_"-out their little hat?  
Can your friends go, **poof?!**"_

And disappeared!!

In his place, though, three harem girls appeared. Voluptuous and well-endowed, they sashayed over to Bakura, their long black hair swaying enticingly, their large eyes blinking suggestively behind their silk veils. They were dressed in skimpy red ribbons and began to pole-dance around the fifteen-year-old!

_"Well, looky here!! Haha!  
Can your friends go, Abracadabra, **YU-GI-OH!**  
And then make the sucker disappeaaaar?"_

One by one, the girls rudely disappeared into lavender smoke, leaving Bakura extremely annoyed. But his attention was brought away again when Malik appeared in their place-!

_"So doncha sit there slack jawed, buggy eyed!  
I'm here to answer all your heartfelt prayers  
You got me bona fide, certified  
You got a genie for your chare d'affaires!"_

Reeling in fun, Malik grabbed Bakura's hands and dragged him towards the spotlight!

_"I got a powerful urge to help you out  
So what-cha wish? I really wanna know!"_

From Bakura's ear, Malik pulled a long list with many scribbles that were assumed wishes!

_"You got a list that's three miles long, no doubt!  
Well, all you gotta do is rub like so-"_

He gave Bakura a kiss on the cheek, before lightly rubbing Bakura's stomach. Heat surged Bakura's face as Malik reeled back and cried out:

_" - and oh…!"_

Once more, Malik disappeared. The three harem girls returned, and once more, they were ribbon dancing around Bakura. As the other two spread themselves on the floor elegantly, the last one bent Bakura's face forwards for a kiss.

**_"Mister Bakura, sir, have a wish or two or five-"_**

The girl disappeared, and once more, Malik took her place. For a briefest moment, Bakura blushed; Malik was very pretty.

The genie batted his eyelashes in a flirty sort of way.

_"I'm on the job, you big **hentai**!"_

Laughing, Malik arched away, doing a cartwheel in the air before landing back in the spotlight. Magic twinkled from his fingers as he pointed at each corner of the cave.

_"You ain't **never** had a friend-"_

Piles of gold spilled from the walls. Light shone and the walls turned gold once more.

_"**Never** had a friend-"_

Another pointed finger. Food tumbled like a flood from the floor, piling high and mountainous. Jewels shone colorfully around the room. The tomb had returned to its former glory, except brighter!

_"You ain't **never** had a friend-"_

Another pointed finger. Bakura was risen as heaps of gold piled underneath him.

_"- **never** had a friend-"_

Diabound was now cuddling the biggest teddy bear in the world.

_"You ain't **never**-"_

Bakura suddenly was sporting a beautiful red robe and many jewels looped around his self. His hair was cut shorter and was hidden under a mysterious cream-linen hood. His scar made him look extra sexy and majestic.

_"-**had a**-"_

A mirror appeared in front of him. Bakura grinned, surprised – he looked awesome!

_" …**friend like MEEEE!!!"**_

Bakura turned back. Malik was rising his arms in the air, his voice and magic reaching a crescendo. Feeling suddenly all – powerful, Bakura raised his hands too, the gold tumbling from the sky and through his ring-adorned fingers.

_"YEAAAHHHHAHA!!"_

Bakura fell back, relishing in the many gold coins that braced his fall. Diabound flew over, squealing over his teddy bear.

_"YEAAAHHAHA!!!"_

Bakura threw the coins in the air in triumph!

_"You ain't never had a friend like me…"_

Suddenly, all the coins disappeared. Bakura fell to the hard floor, no longer warmed by his soft cloak. Diabound whined when he could no longer feel his teddy bear.

The cave had returned back to its desolate state.

_"-**hah**."_


End file.
